Black Queer Poet, Icon & Revolutionary, Nikki Giovanni Dies at 81

[Photograph by Mamadi Doumbouya 2021]

(December 9, 2024) - Born Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni, Jr., on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tenn., Nikki Giovanni’s mastery of language, narration of a movement and sheer brilliance will forever carve her place in history. Battling her third bout of cancer, Giovanni passed on December 9, 2024. Giovanni leaves a lifetime of art and words that unapologetically describe the struggle, intersectionality, longing, race and revolution. She was above all else and before it was en vogue, authentic, raw and unapologetically Black. Nikki famously said in an interview with Rachel Martin that she didn’t care about her legacy but there were moments that made her proud,