By michael vivar
The US Civil Rights Movement is rife with the roaring voices but few had the grace and power of Nikki Giovanni. The treasured poet passed on Dec. 9, leaving artists everywhere to mourn.
Giovanni was young dissident. The 20-year old activist reinstated the Students for Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1964 at Fisk College in Knoxville, TN while earning her History BA
Her civil rights experience was the inspiration to write poetry collected in the anthology, "Black Feeling, Black Talk" in 1968. Giovanni's work and indelible live presence made her a fixture on the PBS program, Soul!
Nikki Giovanni distilled complex feelings into powerful, rousing knowledge drops referenced by successors like hip hop artists Latyrx. Here is some of what she etched into proverbial stone.
"A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace change, no matter what it is. Once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it."
"You've got to find a way to make people know you're there."
"We love because it's the only true adventure."
"We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again."
"Black love is Black wealth."
"I would put good books on par with chocolate, because a good book is delicious."
"Just as nature abhors a vacuum, humans resist change. Change will occur. Vacuums will be filled."