Nikki Giovanni – poet, educator and literary giant who authored over 25 titles including “Black Judgement,” “A Good Cry” and “Black Feeling, Black Talk” — was a special kind of public figure. By special, I mean her name has become synonymous with poetry, similar to how Muhammad Ali comes to mind when we think about boxing. Many have never seen Ali put on a pair of gloves, but they know his influence has shaped the game, just as I knew who Nikki Giovanni was before someone shared her poem Nikki-Rosa with me, where she wrote to me:
and I really hope no white person ever has cause
to write about me
because they never understand
Black love is Black wealth and they’ll
probably talk about my hard childhood
and never understand that
all the while I was quite happy
