Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. on June 7, 1943, at Knoxville General Hospital’s “Negro Wing” in Knoxville, Tennessee to Jones “Gus” Giovanni and Yolande Cornelia Watson. Although she grew up in the Cincinnati area, she often returned to Knoxville to visit family, especially her maternal grandmother, Louvenia Watson, who lived at 400 Mulvaney Street, a place that would remain deeply meaningful throughout her life.

Nikki later returned to Knoxville to attend Austin High School. Though she left in 1960 after her junior year to enroll early at Fisk University, her classmates still recognize her as a distinguished member of the Austin High School Class of 1961. In February 1961, she was “released” from Fisk due to attitudes deemed inappropriate for a “Fisk woman,” prompting her return to Cincinnati, where she continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati.

In 1964, Nikki was reinstated at Fisk after Dean of Women Blanche McConnell Cowan reviewed and dismissed the earlier complaints against her. Cowan’s support would leave a lasting impression, later reflected in poems Giovanni dedicated to her in her first published work, Black Feeling, Black Talk. During her time at Fisk, Nikki reinstated the campus chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), edited the literary magazine, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in history in 1967.

After returning to Cincinnati, she directed the city’s first Black Arts Festival and briefly studied at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work before entering Columbia University’s MFA program. In 1968, she self-published her first poetry collection, Black Feeling, Black Talk, followed shortly by Black Judgement. Both works were later combined and published in 1970 by William Morrow & Company.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nikki lived in New York, where her work and presence flourished. After the birth of her son, Thomas, she supported herself through lectures and poetry readings. Her appearances on the television program SOUL! and her extensive lecture tours made her one of the most recognizable voices of the Black Arts Movement.

In 1971, her autobiographical work Gemini: An Extended Autobiographical Statement on My First Twenty-Five Years of Being a Black Poet was nominated for a National Book Award. That same year, she published her first children’s book, Spin a Soft Black Song, and released the album Truth Is On Its Way, blending poetry with gospel music performed by the New York Community Choir. Though she earned little financially from the album, it was widely embraced, selling approximately 100,000 copies within its first six months.

In 1978, following her father’s stroke, Nikki returned to Cincinnati with her son to care for her parents. She later held teaching positions at Ohio State University and the College of Mount St. Joseph. In 1987, she joined the faculty at Virginia Tech, where she was named a University Distinguished Professor in 1999. During her tenure, she published numerous works, including poetry collections, essays, and award-winning children’s books such as Rosa.

Over the course of her career, Nikki Giovanni received numerous honors, including seven NAACP Image Awards, more than two dozen honorary degrees, the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award, the Langston Hughes Medal for Poetry, and the Carl Sandburg Literary Award. In 2005, she was named one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five “Living Legends.” In 2020, she released Make Me Rain, continuing a career that spanned decades of literary and cultural influence.

Nikki deeply loved her hometown of Knoxville, a place she credited with nurturing her passion for literature. With her heart rooted at 400 Mulvaney Avenue, she traveled the world sharing her voice through poetry, spoken word, and writing for audiences of all ages. Her work reflects both the beauty of belonging and the profound sense of loss experienced by Knoxville’s Black community in the wake of Urban Renewal.

In Knoxville, Urban Renewal destroyed homes, churches, and businesses within the Black community, including Nikki’s own family home at 400 Mulvaney Street, as well as the Carnegie Library, the place where her love of literature first took root. Today, a street marker titled “400 Mulvaney Street, Nikki Giovanni” stands in recognition of this home, serving as a reminder of both her legacy and the lasting impact of Urban Renewal on the African American community.

On December 9, 2024, Nikki Giovanni passed away. Though she is no longer with us, her presence remains woven into the history of Knoxville, especially along Mulvaney Street, where her story continues to be remembered, honored, and shared.