Nikki Giovanni, the poet, author, educator and public speaker who went from borrowing money to release her first book to spending decades as a literary celebrity who shared blunt and conversational takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality, has died.
“I’m not needed,” the beloved poet, drinking coffee at a hotel lounge in midtown Manhattan, insisted during a recent interview. “I think I’m enjoyed. I enjoy my audience and I think my audience enjoys me. I’ve seen too many people who think they’re needed and do you know how awful they are?”
The Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles presented its 10th Annual Pan-African Studies Forum on May 10, featuring world-renowned poet, writer, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni.
WHO: The Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles presents its 10th Annual Pan-African Studies Forum featuring world-renowned poet, writer, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni. Giovanni established herself in her early career as one of the most prominent voices of the Black Arts Movement, with a revolutionary perspective on political, social and cultural experiences. WHAT: Over the last 10 years, the Pan-African Studies Forum at Cal State LA has become one of the most vibrant, stimulating gatherings of people committed to advancing Pan-African Studies as the intellectual arm of the wider movement for Black empowerment and racial/social