by Dr. Khalilah T. Muhammad
Poet. Activist. Artist. Scholar. Educator. Teacher. Female. Black. Black Feeling Black Talk. The Princess of Black Poetry.
It gives me great pleasure to take time, to stop my academic routine of ending this fall semester of teaching, grading, reading and writing, to reflect on the legacy of Nikki Giovanni. As the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is quoted as saying, “Blessed is he [she] who forges the way for others.”
Nikki Giovanni’s pen has definitely blazed the path for the generations of writers, poets, activists, scholars, women and girls who would come behind her.
She is an iconic example of the words of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), which have been paraphrased often in the music of hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco, that “the ink of scholar is worth a thousand times more than the blood of a martyr.”
Nikki’s pen has written some of the most prolific and fierce pieces of prose and poetry that reflect her childhood experiences, the beautifully yet complex need for celebration of Black life, Black men and women alike, to tackling the painful experiences that formulate the American historical landscape over her lifetime.
In the article “Nikki Giovanni: Selections,” Sarah Ahmad and The Editors for the Poetry Foundation website are quoted for writing that the “Scholar Virginia C. Fowler writes, ‘[Nikki Giovanni] is the definitive poet of the people,’
Employing seemingly simple language to explore complex issues of race, gender, love and politics.” Other renowned poets are known for their laudable commentary of Giovanni’s wonderful works, gifts and talents. Like Gwendolyn Brooks, who said, “Nikki Giovanni is remarkable.”
Therefore, I would like to encourage all the readers, writers, scholars, and thinkers to plumb and parse the scrolls of Nikki Giovanni. She once said, “Jimmy Baldwin I would go anywhere to talk with him.” And that she did. She went to London.
Go to Google and search “Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin in conversation on SOUL! (Part 1).” You will not be disappointed in this scholarly dialogue. It will make you want to go to read her text “A Dialogue: James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni” and go back to read Baldwin’s famous text “The Fire Next Time”.
Another jewel in Nikki’s literary oeuvre is the poem, “But Since You Finally Asked,” written to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Slave Memorial at Mount Vernon.
She begins with, “No one asked us … what we thought of Jamestown … in 1619 … they didn’t even say … ‘Welcome’…‘You’re Home’… or even a pitiful … ‘I’m Sorry … But We Just Can’t Make It … Without You’… No … No one said a word … They just snatched our dreams … separated us by language and gender … put us on blocks … where our beauty … like our dignity … was ignored.
“No one said a word … in 1776 … to us about Freedom … The rebels wouldn’t pretend … the British lied … We kept to a space … where we owned our souls … since we understood … another century would pass … before we owned our bodies … But we raised our voices … in a mighty cry … to the Heavens above … for the strength to endure.”
It is the voice of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan that embodies and reflects this voice that Nikki Giovanni is speaking of and the Heavens where Allah (God) is answering the mighty cry that was heard.
I know from reading those words, dear reader, you are ready for some more of Giovanni’s writings. Me too. I had to dust off my poetry antennae. Some other poems that she is famously known for are “Nikki-Rosa,” “Ego-Tripping,” “Knoxville, Tennessee,” “Beautiful Black Men,” “Love is,” and “Her Dreams.”
One of Nikki Giovanni’s most recent collections of poetry and prose, published in 2020, “Make Me Rain: Poems and Prose” tackles a plethora of thought-provoking issues that reflect world matters and the human experience.
Now, I would like to leave you with some final words in Nikki Giovanni fashion. In the introduction to “Toni Morrison: The Last Interview and Other Conversations,” paying homage to her dear friend, Toni Morrison, Giovanni seems to be lamenting and writing.
“I wish I had a restaurant then I could also cook up a special Morrison Stew to help us all go through this. The title of this book is The Last Interview but there will never be a last interview with Toni. Her books live and talk to us. She could have said Read. But she said Write. And she is Right.”
There will never be another Nikki Giovanni. Like Toni Morrison, she too is saying “write.” And she is right. Here I am writing, reflecting and being grateful for the life of Nikki Giovanni. She was one of the beautiful reflections of Allah that offer her gifts and talents to our world.
May Allah be pleased with her.
Sister Khalilah T. Muhammad, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English at Olive-Harvey Community College in Chicago. Dr. Khalilah is also an award-winning educator, ghostwriter, researcher, published author, editor for the Table Talks, instructor in the Orientation Class and a student in the Ministry Class at Mosque Maryam.
