Legendary Poet, Author And Activist Nikki Giovanni Dies At 81
Nikki Giovanni, the legendary poet, author and activist whose career spanned nearly 60 years, died on Monday. She was 81. The cause of death was cancer, according to WDBJ, which first reported Giovanni’s passing.
Giovanni was working as a professor of English at Virginia Tech University at the time of her death.
More from WDBJ:
Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni, born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 7, 1943, served as a University Distinguished Professor in the English Department at Virginia Tech. Giovanni, an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is the recipient of hundreds of awards and honors. She was most recently awarded a 2024 Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
As a prominent figure of the Black Arts and Civil Rights Movements, she became friends with Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, James Baldwin, Nina Simone, and Muhammad Ali, and inspired generations of students, artists, activists, musicians, scholars and human beings both young and old.
The author of nearly two dozen collections of poetry, including children’s books, was hailed during her life for her revolutionary approach to her craft, particularly in the context of Black liberation.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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