Words of Wisdom

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Nikki Giovanni gives us all much to think about

Poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni captivated the audience in Lincoln Theater in February with stories, one-liners, and references to celebrity figures. Giovanni, who came to prominence in the 1960s and ’70s as a foundational member of the Black Arts movement that overlapped and continued after the Civil Rights movement in the United States, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and participated in a question-and-answer session with UHart students.

Giovanni was the featured guest at the University’s annual winter observance of Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream of equality and justice for all. Some of the thoughts she shared:

Let Your Voice Be Heard. All I have is my voice and I am not going to let anyone take that away. My generation ended segregation but that does not mean you are living in a non- racist world. America will be what we want it to be, but this is not going to be easy.

Keep Believing. Black people were not cowards. Everybody told us “Oh, you’ll never be able to do this or do that,” but we kept believing— we believed in the constitution, we believed in Jesus, and we believed in ourselves; and we kept working and we kept working. Some of it we’ve gotten done and some of it we haven’t. Today’s Younger Generation. I feel sorry for your generation (today’s students) because you are involved in things that are incredibly stupid… spending so much time worrying about others you’ve never even heard of. You go back and forth on social media with people you don’t know who are telling you lies about how much fun they are having. If they’re having that much fun, then why are they talking to you?

Race vs. Racism. We, in many respects, have cheated you all to say you have to get rid of racism. It’s not racism you have to get rid of…it’s race. Racism is a theory—race is a bad idea… I think it is time that children learn that they are not a race; they are a part of a planet. This Is My Home. One of the things that is so nice is that going back to slavery, we remember. Our African ancestors sold us to our European ancestors who sold us to what would now be our American ancestors. So when people start to talk about what we’ve been through, and people say we’re going back home, I don’t know where home is—because THIS is my home.