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Nikki Giovanni
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Nikki Giovanni
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Martin Luther King, Jr. (center), with other civil rights supporters lock arms on as they lead the way along Constitution Avenue during the March on Washington, Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963.
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4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul
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Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni Poet Nikki Giovanni, shown in 1973, reflected her experiences as a Black single mother in her work.

Nikki Giovanni

American poet
Also known as: Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr.
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History

Nikki Giovanni (born June 7, 1943, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.—died December 9, 2024, Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.) was an American poet whose writings range from calls for Black power to poems for children and intimate personal statements. She was a significant member of the Black Arts movement, a period of artistic and literary development among Black American artists in the 1960s and early ’70s. Nicknamed “Nikki” by her older sister, Yolande Giovanni, Jr., grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and...

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