Remembering Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024)

December 17, 2024

It’s a season of change: a new year and a new presidential administration; changes in political power throughout the world; climate change; technological changes, and more. The ASHP staff knows that such changes don’t emerge overnight; as we look backward and ahead, we remain committed to making our work as history educators help generate greater understanding of the current historical moment. We have invited each member of our staff to share a document that reflects what has been on their mind as they observe our changing country: documents that present historical context, offer hope and inspiration, or provide evidence to shed light on the present moment. This week, researcher Carli Snyder shares a primary source. Stay tuned for more documents in the coming weeks both on our website and on our primary source database, Social History for Every Classroom.

On December 10, 2024, on my commute to work, I was saddened to learn that prolific and beloved poet, author, professor, and activist Nikki Giovanni had died the day before. As I rode the train, I began to listen to her spoken word album, The Way I Feel. The record features Giovanni reciting some of her poems, laid over soul, gospel, and blues music. I was particularly struck and moved by this rendition of her poem, “Revolutionary Dreams” and decided to select it for the primary source I would present this week. Giovanni was born on June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and spent most of her childhood in Ohio. She became a prominent member of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, writing “poetry for the people.” The Black Arts Movement developed along with the Black Power Movement, presenting Black pride and political ideas such as self-determination and struggles for social justice through poetry, visual art, music, theater, and writing. Giovanni’s first volume of poems, Black Feeling, Black Talk, was published in 1968. In addition to her numerous publications, she also shared her poetry wherever people would listen: she spoke on the radio and on television, at churches, cafes, clubs, schools, and prisons. 

“Revolutionary Dreams” was published in 1970, the year after Giovanni gave birth to her son, Thomas. Giovanni has frequently spoken and written about how becoming a mother caused a shift in how she approached her politics and thought about revolution for Black people in the United States. One theme running throughout Giovanni’s career is that she explicitly embraced that her positions changed over time. In our ever-changing times, Giovanni’s continual self-reflection provides us a way to consider our own shifting stances in relation to contemporary politics and events unfolding around us. (Click here to read the poem.)

An excellent documentary about her life and career, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, premiered in 2023 and is available to watch here.