Nikki Giovanni is a Black American poet, essayist, and lecturer, whose work influenced many throughout the years of the BAM. Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr., in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1943. She attended Fisk University where she received her degree in 1967. Giovanni has since further studied at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work and Columbia University's School of Fine Arts. In 1970 Giovanni founded a publishing company called Niktom Limited. She now works as a professor in the English department of Virginia Polytechnical Institute.
Giovanni believes that change is necessary for growth. Her poetry is renowned for its call of urgency for Black people to realize their identities and understand their surroundings as part of a white-controlled culture. She is considered a leader in the Black poetry movement. Her collection of poetry, Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgement, captures the militant attitude of the civil rights and Black Art movements of that time. In other works, Giovanni also focuses on her family and personal relationships. She is known for her recordings of her conversations with prominent African-American writers James Baldwin and Margaret Walker. Giovanni continues to write, speak and teach about the history and future of Black people and has become a symbol of the BAM, as well as for Black women and women writers today.
Awards and Honors
1970 Ebony Magazine, Woman of the Year
1971-99 Keys to more than a dozen cities, including Dallas, Miami, New York, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Los Angeles
1971 Mademoiselle Magazine, Woman of the Year
1972 Ladies Home Journal, Woman of the Year
National Association of Radio and Television Announcers (N.A.T.R.A.) Award for Best Spoken Word Album, for Truth Is On Its Way
1973 Life Membership & Scroll, The National Council of Negro Women
National Book Award Nomination for Gemini
1974 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (Honorary Member)
1983 YWCA Woman of the Year, Cincinnati Chapter
1985 The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame
Outstanding Woman of Tennessee
1986 The Post-Corbett Award
Distinguished Recognition Award, Detroit City Council
Duncanson Artist in Residence, The Taft Museum
1988 Cincinnati Bi-Centennial Honoree
Silver Apple Award, Oakland Museum Film Festival
The Ohioana Library Award (for Sacred Cows)
McDonald's Literary Achievement Awards: Poetry Award to be presented in the name of Nikki Giovanni in perpetuity
Spin A Soft Black Song selected by the United States Information Agency for Inclusion in the Exhibition to the Soviet Union
The Children's Reading Roundtable of Chicago Award (for Vacation Time)
National Festival of Black Storytelling Initiates the Nikki Giovanni Award for Young African American Storytellers
1991 Utrecht International Poetry Festival, Featured Poet
The Cecil H. and Ida Green Honors Chair, Texas Christian University, April 16-19
"Two Friends." Incorporated as a Permanent Tile Wall Exhibit by the Oxnard Public Library, California
1992 Martin Luther King, Jr., Visiting Professor, University of Oregon, January 15-22
Portland Art Beat, Featured Poet
Community Volunteer of the Year Award, Warm Hearth Village
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (Roanoke Chapter) initiates The Nikki Giovanni Annual Artistic Award
The Beach Lecturer, University of Minnesota
The John Tate Lecture for Excellence in Academic Advising, University of Minnesota
1993 The Hill Visiting Professor, University of Minnesota
1994 Keys to the cities of Kokomo, Indiana; Mobile, Alabama; and Morgantown, West Virginia
Black Women's Honor Society Award, University of Southern California
Tennessee Writer's Award, The Nashville Banner
1995 Visiting Professor of English, University of Indiana/Kokomo
The Jeanine Rae Award for the Advancement of Women's Culture, National Women's Music Festival
1996 1996 Tennessee Governor's Award In the Humanities.
The Tennessee Humanities Council.
Honorary Citizenship, City of Baltimore. 27 January 1996.
Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni nominated for NAACP Image Award. 6 April 1996.
Featured Writer. Literacy Partners Benefit Reading. Lincoln Center. New York. 29 April 1996.
Keys to the Cities of Natchez, Mississippi and Birmingham, Alabama.
Outstanding Humanitarian Award. The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 25 June 1996.
Artist-in-Residence. The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 28-29 June 1996.
Knowledge Heritage Award. The Knowledge Afrocentric Empowerment Coalition, Augusta Correctional Center. 27 September 1996.
Contributor's Arts Award, The Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing. 26 October 1996.
The Langston Hughes Award for 1996. City College of New York. 7 November 1996.
Selected Author for The Literacy Letters Auction. Sponsored by Literacy Partners, Inc. Sotheby's. 5 December 1996.
Parents' Choice Award for The Sun Is So Quiet.
1997 Esther Eberstadt Baldwin Scholar. College of Notre Dame of Maryland. 9-10 February 1997.
Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies. Virginia Tech.
1998 NAACP Image Award for Love Poems.
Belle Ringer Image Role Model Award. Bennett College. 20 March 1998.
Distinguished Visiting Professor, Johnson & Wales University. 1-2 April 1998.
Robert E. Dennard Visiting Scholar. St. Mark's School of Texas. Dallas, Texas. 15-17 April 1998.
Invited Guest. Millenium Evening at the White House. 22 April 1998.
Living Legacy Award. Juneteenth Festival of Columbus, Ohio. June 1998.
National Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent. The Gwendolyn Brooks Center of Chicago State University. 16 October 1998.
The Appalachian Medallion Award. University of Charleston. 3 December 1998.
The 1998 Tennessee Governor's Award in the Arts
1999 Invited Participant at Children's Defense Fund Symposium. Organized by Marian Wright Edelmann. Other participants included Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Education Donna Shalala, Toni Morrison. March 1999.
University Distinguished Professor. Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, VA. August 1999.
Blues: For All the Changes. Nominated for Library of Virginia 2000 Poetry Award. September 1999.
Blues: For All the Changes. NAACP Image Award for Literature. 12 February 2000.
Membership in The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, The State of North Carolina. 5 November 1999.
Capitol Citation. State of North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. 5 November 1999.
Voted Ohio's Favorite Author of Poetry by Ohioans. Ballot sponsored by Ohioana Library Association. October 1999.
Black Feeling, Black Talk. Included in "Some 100 classic millennial books," Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., The New York Amsterdam News, 30 December 1999 – 5 January 2000, p. 20.
2000 N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Blues: For All the Changes
Member, 2000 Council of Ideas, The Gihon Foundation
Virginia Governor's Award for the Arts.
Judge, Poetry Panel. The National Book Awards.
Distinguished Member Recognition Award. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Wilberforce Alumnae Chapter. Wilberforce, Ohio.
Appreciation given to Nikki Giovanni by the Virginia Dept. of Correctional Education.
Certificate of Appreciation. The Black Caucus of Virginia Tech.
City Council Resolution Honoring and Welcoming Nikki Giovanni. City of Youngstown, Ohio. Proclamation of welcome by Mayor George M. McKelvey. City of Youngstown, Ohio.
Member. Council on Ideas. Gihon Foundation. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Commendation. State of California.
Certificate of Appreciation. City of Los Angeles.
Commendation. County of Los Angeles.
United States Senate Certificate of Commendation. Presented by Senator Barbara Boxer.
Hollywood Walk of Fame. A Celebration of Poetry, Art, & Music. Los Angeles, California.
Official Welcome. Resolution, Erie County Legislature. Buffalo, NY. Resolution: Nikki Giovanni Day. City of Buffalo Common Council. Plaque of Appreciation. Nu Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. University of West Florida.
Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni. Top 10 Books on MosaicBooks.Com.
2001 Keys to the Cities of Saginaw, Michigan and Dallas, Texas.
2002 The SHero Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Rosa Parks Women of Courage Award. (First recipient.)
2003 American Library Association's Black Caucus Award for Non-fiction (for Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea)
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (for Quilting)
Honorary Citizen of Louisville, Kentucky
Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Delta of Tennessee Chapter, Fisk University
Honored in a Proclamation from the Mayor of Hartford which proclaimed that 10 April 2003 was "Nikki Giovanni Day In the City of Hartford".
"Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea." Selected as one of Top 10 Adult Picks in the 2003 African American Booklist. Detroit Public Library.
Name one of the "HistoryMakers" in 2003.
2004 Nominated for a Best Spoken Word Grammy in the 46th Annual Grammy Awards for her album "The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection."
Nominated in the poetry category for the 7th Annual Library of Virginia Literacy Awards.
Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Literature.
Honored by Robert Baker from Texas Tech University by naming a species of bat in her honor (Micronycteris giovanniae).
Named one of "Women of Strength & Courage." American Legacy. New York, NY. 26 February 2004.
Featured in the "African American Wisdom Knowledge Cards" compiled and illustrated by Bob Johnson and Mary Margolies. Rohnert Park: Pomegranate Communications Inc.
Featured in the "Literacy Encounters" 2004 Calendar by Jill Krementz. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc. 15-21 November 2004.
Featured in the "Freedom Forum's First Amendment Calendar" for 2004. 17 August 2004.
Featured in "The Ohio Reading Road Trip".
Elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Chapter of Tennessee as an alumnae member.
Winner of the Atlanta Daily World 2nd Atlanta Choice Awards. The East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame Award for Poetry. 27 Apr. 2004.
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea selected for the 2004-05 Adelante! Book Club of the American Association of University Women.
2005 Key to the City – City of Grambling. Grambling, LA. 2005.
Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, Poet-In-Residence Award. 2005.
Virginia Arts Celebration in NYC. Special guest of the Governor. 09 Apr. 2005.
The Mu Zeta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Certificate of Appreciation. 14 Apr. 2005.
"The Legends" designation from The Oprah Magazine. Aug. 2005.
Iowa State Representative Wayne Ford, Fourth Humanitarian Award. 06 Aug. 2005.
The 2005 John Henry "Pop" Lloyd Humanitarian Award. Atlantic City, New Jersey. 1 Oct. 2005.
The Federal City Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Certificate of Commendation. 20 Nov. 2005
The 2005 ALC Lifetime Achievement Award. 01 Dec. 2005.
2006 Kappa Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Certificate of Appreciation. 18 Jan. 2006.
University of Virginia Women's Center, HUES Leadership Network for Women of Color Award. 18 Mar. 2006.
Theta Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Certificate of Appreciation. 26 Jan. 2006.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Texas A & M University – Commerce, Certificate of Appreciation. Spring 2006.
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award for Rosa. 2006.
Rosa named Child Magazine's Best Children's Book of the Year, Oct. 2005.
Rosa selected as the Anchor Book for Celebrate with Books. Cleveland Public Library.
Rosa is #3 on New York Times bestseller list. 12 Feb. 2006.
Rosa named a Caldecott Honor Book.
Rosa receives the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration.
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