December 7, 2024 - December 13, 2024 The Afro-American A5 THE BLACKwww.afro.com MEDIA AUTHORITY • AFRO.COM $2.00 $1.00
Volume 133 No. 20
Volume 123 No. 20–22
DECEMBER 14, 2024 - DECEMBER 20, 2024
AFRO File Photos
Activists, authors, poets and fans of renowned poet Nikki Giovanni are mourning the Dec. 9 death of the legendary wordsmith at age 81. Giovanni leaves behind a legacy of speaking truth to power while using art to create change and speak life into Black people around the globe. Shown here, on the right, Giovanni speaking on Jan. 27, 1996, shortly after the release of her book, “The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni,” published the same month. Shown top left: Nikki Giovanni, author of notable works such as “Black Judgement” and “Those Who Ride the Night Winds,” speaking on Dec. 4, 1993, and a portrait of the poet from July 21, 1973, the same year she published “Ego Tripping and Other Poems for Young Readers.” On bottom left: Giovanni, with Coldstream Park Elementary School teacher, Ms. Sherby Simmons, and her second grade class. Giovanni met the students during a promotional stop at Coppin College on Sept. 1, 1973. The class surprised Giovanni by reciting some of her poems.
Celebrating the life and legacy of Nikki Giovanni
Arts community, activists and elected officials react to death of legendary poet and ‘healer’
By Tashi McQueen AFRO Staff Writer tmcqueen@afro.com
afro.com
Poets, musicians and creatives of every genre joined authors, activists and legislators in mourning the death of Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni Jr. this week. The celebrated poet, author and activist died Dec. 9 at 81 years old after a recent diagnosis of lung cancer. “She was a disruptor, a revealer and a healer of the Black spirit,” said Janince Short, a professor and coordinator of the theatre arts program at
06
7
47105 21847
2
Morgan State University. “The first time I discovered “Ego-Tripping,” I thought, ‘That’s what I want to be when I grow up.’ I wanted to be ‘bad’ enough to possess the ego. Her mission was accomplished in a stellar way and her work will remain a mecca.” Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tenn. on June 7, 1943, and was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Fisk University with a degree in history in 1967. Initially gaining recognition during the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, her poems became a voice for African
Americans and Black people worldwide. During that time she began to rise as a leading author and poet, earning her name as the “Poet of the Black Revolution.” Jacob “Black Chakra” Mayberry, a Baltimore-based poet, told the AFRO he felt a deep connection to the words of Giovanni. Though his favorite poem by Giovanni is a tribute to the late rapper Tupac Shakur, titled “All Eyez On You,” similar to Short, Mayberry said “Ego-Tripping” had a significant impact on him. “Many schools teach the classic, ‘Ego Tripping’ ” he said. “While oth-
er students were reading what they regarded as just a piece of writing, I picked up that it was an encoded message to those with the poet spirit– a message of power and a challenge to empower.” Mayberry said Black artists of today can continue Giovanni’s legacy of merging art and activism by realizing “their expression is a statement of revolution.” “Art from the mind of the oppressed is a sword to the heart of the oppressor,” he said. Throughout her lifetime Giovanni made sure to give voice to the op-
pressed and take action. She made appearances on Soul!, a Black arts show from the late 1960s and early 1970s, where she gained popularity for interviewing notable figures such as James Baldwin and Muhammed Ali. Giovanni received seven NAACP Image Awards, wrote three New York and Los Angeles Times best selling books and became one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 “Living Legends.” She also served as a distinguished professor in the English Department at Virginia Tech for over three decades. Continued on A3
Civil rights advocates, lawmakers urge President Biden to pardon former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby By Ashlee Banks Special to the AFRO ABanks@afro.com Civil rights advocates, community members and political leaders are intensifying their calls for President Joe Biden to pardon former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who is currently under house arrest following her federal convictions earlier this year. Nick Mosby, in his final moments serving as Baltimore City Council President on Dec. 4, made a public plea for Marilyn Mosby to be pardoned. “Marilyn Mosby, my ex-wife, was selectively prosecuted, wrongfully prosecuted, politically prosecuted,” said Nick Mosby, his two girls standing behind him. “I call on my colleagues throughout the state– I call on anybody else throughout the state– to ask President Joe Biden for a pardon.” This renewed push for clemency in Mosby’s case comes on the heels of Biden’s surprising decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, after previously stating he would not do so. Prominent attorney Ben Crump and political strategist Angela Rye
AP File Photo
Civil rights advocates and elected officials alike continue to call on President Joe Biden to grant former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby clemency before he leaves office. emphasized that while Biden’s actions toward his son may have been justified in some circles, they serve as a reminder that “justice is still not served for so many in this country.”
Copyright © 2024 by the Afro-American Company
In a joint statement released on Dec. 2, Crump and Rye pointed out the stark reality that thousands of individuals remain wrongfully convicted and are currently incarcerated in federal prisons. They expressed concern over the perceived selective prosecution of Hunter Biden and highlighted that he is not the only one facing such scrutiny. Their focus shifted to Mosby, who was convicted earlier this year on charges of mortgage fraud and perjury. As it stands, she is serving a year of home confinement, followed by an additional two years of supervised release. U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.-4) told the AFRO that he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus wrote a letter to President Biden urging him to pardon Mosby. “I thought that the charges against her boiled down to her taking money from herself,” said Ivey. “I know she’s suffered quite a bit at this point, so certainly commuting her sentence would be fine with me.” U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.-5) told the AFRO that he agrees that the president should use Continued on A3