Thursday night in the University Center Ballroom, poet, author, essayist and teacher Nikki Giovanni spoke to a predominately African-American crowd. Several hundred people crowded into the UC Ballroom. Extra chairs had to be brought in for audience members, however many still had to stand along the walls. Giovanni was brought to The University of Memphis speak as a part of the Black History Month. The event was sponsored by The Black Student Association and Student Activity Council.
Giovanni was unable to answer why she came to speak to students at The U of M, yet she said she was pleased with her responsive audience.
However, 20-year-old sophomore Denardo Jenkins said he knew why he came to hear Giovanni.
“I came to hear Nikki Giovanni because I had an African-American literature class last semester, and I read some of her poetry,” Jenkins said. “And I knew she had so many uplifting things to say, and I wanted to see her face to face.”
Giovanni spoke to a crowd that often jumped to its feet, applauded and whistled in response to many of the inflammatory statements she made.
Giovanni often jumped from subject to subject in her speech and mentioned many topics including the Pullman Porters, Jesse Jackson, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Holocaust victims, Japanese internment camp victims, NASA, the Mars project, Tupac, black men, Indians, Eminem and Michael Jackson.
Giovanni first began by speaking on Black history.
“Black history is American history,” Giovanni said. “Without black history it would be a different America.”
Giovanni said that the reason the second group of settlers of Jamestown survived was due to the Africans they had to help them, especially the inquisitive black woman.
“I have ultimate faith in the black woman, if she didn’t exist, she would have to be invented; because she is here, she needs to be discovered,” Giovanni said.
Because of the contributions African-Americans made to American history, Giovanni said, “I’m a fan of reparations.
“We have to get some credit for what we did to save this nation.”
Giovanni also said that reparations would help “jump start the economy by putting money in the hands of poor people, because they will spend it.”
President George Bush, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas were all subjects of her discussion.
She described Bush as greedy and stupid and Rice as a “crazy b****.”
Giovanni said she supported Affirmative Action and that all three of these individuals should be in favor of Affirmative Action because they all benefited from it.
She said “anyone with the grades and stupidity of this boy (Bush),” should support it because that is how he made it through Yale.
About Bush, Giovanni said, “He’s crazy, he’s mean and he doesn’t care what he does to the rest of us.”
The speaker was well received by the excited crowd.
“I love Nikki Giovanni,” said Lasandra Barksdale, a 24-year-old senior statistics major. “I’m a big fan. I recorded it! I think it was very bold especially with all the political things going on right now. She is such a dynamic speaker.”
