President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris release statements on her passing
Nikki Giovanni, a renowned literary legend and retired Virginia Tech professor, has completed her final chapter.
The acclaimed poet, activist, and University Distinguished Professor Emerita passed away on Dec. 9, after battling cancer for the third time. She was 81 years old.
Giovanni, whom Oprah Winfrey named one of 25 living legends, retired from Virginia Tech in 2022 after 35 years as a professor in the Department of English.
Still, she continued a busy speaking, traveling and writing schedule, including returning to campus to present the annual Giovanni-Steger Poetry Prize Award to undergraduate students in April. Giovanni, along with the late Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger, created the competition in 2006, offering monetary prizes for student poets.
“We can never let words be silenced,” said Giovanni during the Moss Arts Center ceremony. “We can never let words be taken away from us. We can never let people, because they don’t like what we’re saying, shut us up. Words are the most important things that human beings have. And no matter what the situation, we must always remember to use them.”
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both offered words to honor Giovanni.
In 2020, Nikki Giovanni’s majestic voice echoed her powerful words, “and sometime, there has to be something called courage. You have it in your hands.” Born in segregated Knoxville, Tennessee, she became a renowned activist, professor, and literary legend who had that courage in her hands and in her heart,” said Biden. “A pioneering poet of the Black Arts Movement and the Civil Rights era, she used her pen to advance racial and gender equality and confront violence, hate and injustice, alongside some of the most esteemed artists and icons of the past century.
“Author of over 25 books, her wit and intellect earned her numerous accolades, including the Langston Hughes medal, an Emmy award, and a Grammy award nomination,” Bien’s statement continued. “A three-time cancer fighter, Nikki offered words of wisdom that gave hope to countless others fighting disease and despair. Jill and I send our love and condolences to her family — including her wife Virginia, her son Thomas, and her granddaughter Kai — and all those who loved and admired that something special, her courage. May God bless Nikki Giovanni.”
“Nikki Giovanni was a brilliant poet, a big-hearted educator, and an unapologetic voice for justice and equality,” said Harris. “As a leading voice of the Black Arts Movement, she used her poetry to celebrate Black joy and resilience – while also speaking out for racial and social justice.
“Nikki was committed to lifting up the next generation too,” Harris continued. “Over more than three decades as an educator, she empowered her students to express themselves through creative writing, mentoring hundreds of them along the way. Throughout her career, Nikki never stopped demanding, and fighting for, an America that lives up to our highest ideals: of freedom, opportunity, fairness, and dignity for all. She leaves behind a storied legacy — in literature, education, and in the fight for a more just America. Doug and I send our prayers to her family, and to all who were touched by her work.”
Many Hokies can attest to the power of Giovanni’s words – both spoken and written. She is known around the world for her poetry, essays, and written work that delve into social issues, such as race and gender, and call for action. She has received more than 30 honorary degrees, published at least 11 illustrated children’s books, and even won an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.”
Her latest book of poetry, called “The Last Book,” is set for publication in fall 2025.
“To know Nikki was to be forever changed by her,” said Laura Belmonte, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. “One minute, she would say something that would make you laugh so hard you would cry. The next minute, she would say something that would haunt you for months and make you reevaluate the world as you knew it. She was a force of nature and our college, Virginia Tech, and the world itself are better for her impact on all of them.”
Giovanni used her words to mark some of the university’s historic and untimely events. She wrote poems for the April 16 tragedy and for the Class of 2020’s commencement ceremony at the height of the pandemic.
“Nikki Giovanni was a treasure who lived out Ut Prosim in countless ways, using her literary gifts to motivate change, encourage critical thought, inspire us to dream, and provide comfort in times of sadness and grief,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. “Her spirit endures through her words and the students she inspired to express themselves through writing and poetry. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered by her Hokie family.”
In 2023, she was the fifth recipient of Virginia Tech’s Ut Prosim Scholar Award.
Giovanni also supported the university in a variety of ways, including as a member of the Legacy Society. In 2010, Giovanni and Virginia Fowler, a retired English professor and Giovanni’s wife, created the Fowler-Giovanni Fund, a legacy gift to support initiatives for visiting scholars and students in the Department of English.
Giovanni grew up in Ohio, but spent summers with her grandparents in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she was born. She joined Virginia Tech in 1987, when Fowler recruited her. Giovanni brought to campus a unique spirit of community and inclusion, from hosting a campus-wide fish fry to inviting renowned authors Maya Angelou and Rita Dove.
When she retired, she said she would miss talking with Virginia Tech students regularly. Her ultimate goal as a professor was to teach students to think deeply and ask questions.
“I want my students to not accept what they are hearing, but to look and say, ‘what kind of sense does this make?’ and ‘what is going to be the end result?’” said Giovanni at the time of her retirement.
One former student, now a New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winning producer, can attest to the ways that Giovanni set him on a path to success. As a sophomore at Virginia Tech, author Kwame Alexander’s first class under Giovanni was advanced poetry. It didn’t go well initially.
“I was that student who argued everything and pushed back on anything she offered,” Alexander said. “I thought I knew more than she did about poetry. Yet she kept letting me take her classes, kept teaching me, saw what was possible for me, and shaped me into who I am today.”
Giovanni became who Alexander described as his literary mother.
“I’m so grateful and so much better because of her,” he said.
Giovanni is survived by Fowler, her son, Thomas Giovanni, her granddaughter, Kai Giovanni, and other family members.
“We will forever feel blessed to have shared a legacy and love with our dear cousin,” said Allison Ragan, Giovanni’s cousin, in a statement on behalf of her family.
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