Brooke Kelly
Managing Editor
Encouraging, funny, and down to earth were words used to describe Nikki Giovanni’s conversation during her visit to Jackson State University on March 23rd. Members of the audience left thinking about things a little differently than when they walked in.
Giovanni, a world renowned poet, commentator, activist, and educator told the audience in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium that she is always pleased to be in Jackson, the home of her friend, former professor and writer, Margaret Walker Alexander.
In her recent anthology, “100 Black African American Poems,” of which she won her 7th NAACP Image Award, Giovanni said she decided to do something different. Compiling 100 great poems wasn’t too difficult in Giovanni’s mind.
“Anybody can do that, so I thought what can I do that nobody else would do, so what I decided to do was devote a fourth of the book to young voices.”
Quoting Stevie Wonder, Giovanni said, “If you only do what you are asked to do, you haven’t done nothing.”
So in the book, that features 221 poems, Giovanni published work by upcoming poets, 10 of which have never been published before.
“So I know the question is like ‘ok Nikki, how do you know they’re the best,’ my answer is how do you know they’re not,” said Giovanni.
Students from Outspoken, the student spoken word/poetry organization, introduced Giovanni with a poetic performance expressing all the reasons why they admire her.
Monica Atkins, a senior English/journalism major from Chicago, Ill. said that being a writer and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority made meeting Giovanni a very special occasion for her.
“Meeting Nikki Giovanni [backstage] was like meeting a childhood hero….Having the opportunity to meet her meant even more knowing that we both are a part of a sisterhood that devotes itself to serving and inspiring others through public service. It is a privilege and honor for us to be able to call her soror and be blessed with her presence,” said Atkins.
Brittney Cleark, a senior English major from Jackson, Miss.also recited a poem as part of Giovanni’s introduction and described the opportunity to speak before Giovanni as “pure bliss.”
“It was like walking up to your teacher and showing her a test you made an A on and saying, ‘look at what I’ve done,” said Cleark.
Giovanni discussed stepping out of comfort zones and being brave and bold in life.
DaNielle Harris, a junior psychology major from Milwaukee, Wis., said that she enjoyed the topics of Giovanni’s discussion.
“I thought it was really good. Sometimes you don’t think about different things and she addressed some topics that I thought were interesting and necessary,” said Harris.
As black people, Giovanni said we need to stop waiting for white people to give us accolades and certify us as talented, but we should be able to commend each other before others give us credit for our work.
Giovanni encouraged students to do what they believe in and like others who have accomplished things in life, practice their craft. She explained the need for people to step out of who you are to become something more. Writing is what she does, but Giovanni said she could have been a history major, because she studies history and it has made her a better writer.
After showing the audience her “thug life” tattoo on her lower inner arm, Giovanni, further encouraged young people to embrace who they are.
Courtland White, a senior entrepreneurship major from Houston, Texas said, “It’s a blessing to be able to hear someone from the past come and tell us about our history that a lot of us are disconnected from as young black men and women, a lot of us really really needed this. I give JSU a handclap for bringing good constructive people here to show our society what we really need to do”
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