"We're the people who are going to come through Trump because we've come through worse." "Black people, no matter what we're going through, have found a way to bring joy," she said. "It's a gun issue and it's an evil issue," she said.ĭuring her talk, Giovanni spoke about her love of space and spirituals praise of the black woman that's been encapsulated in the #BlackGirlMagic social media hashtag and her recurring subject of disdain: President Donald Trump. Her appearance in Houston followed another campus shooting on Wednesday that claimed 17 people at a south Florida high school. A young man she had asked to be removed from her class was identified as the shooter. Giovanni, a University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech University, gained national attention a decade ago with her day-after-poem-turned-rallying-cry about the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre that claimed 32 students, including several she knew. "If you feel something, go do something about it. Then she pivoted to a public service message. I'm 74, so, actually, I didn't give a damn," she said, laughing along with an audience that roared. Her evening talk started with a quick turn to the sometimes-harsh realities of her life. The poet spent the morning touring The African American Library at the Gregory School in Houston's historic Freedmen's Town. She was introduced by Mayor Sylvester Turner, who declared Thursday "Nikki Giovanni Day" in the city. Won't somebody hug her, won't somebody hug her, standing in the middle of the road," she said. Somebody heard my mother cry standing in the middle of the road. "Somebody heard my mother cry standing in the middle of the road. In an hour-long presentation that offered glimpses into her life and works, she spoke of the collection of poems and short essays and read two new works - about her love of libraries and black men - before reciting the beginning of a poem she's still writing. She spoke on aging, death, slavery and celebrations before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 1,000 Thursday at the University of Houston's Cullen Performance Hall as part of the Houston Public Library's quarterly author series and to mark Black History Month.
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