Nikki Giovanni

Born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. on June 7, 1943, in the “Negro Wing” of Knoxville General Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee, she peacefully passed away on December 9, 2024, at her home in Virginia, surrounded by family. She was the second daughter of Yolande Watson and Jones "Gus" Giovanni. Named after her mother and affectionately called “Nikki” by her older sister, she grew up in Cincinnati and Knoxville.

As one of the world’s most renowned and celebrated poets, Nikki attended Austin High School starting in 1958, and she is remembered as an esteemed member of the class of 1961. She had a deep love for her hometown of Knoxville, where her family home once stood at 400 Mulvaney Street (now Hall of Fame Drive), next to the Carnegie Library. It was in this community that her passion for literature took root.

A proud honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Nikki received hundreds of awards, numerous accolades, and thirty-one honorary doctorates. Her most recent recognition was a 2024 Emmy for the HBO documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. She graduated from Fisk University and retired in 2022 from Virginia Tech as a Distinguished Professor.

Ms. Giovanni is survived by her wife, Virginia Fowler; her son, Thomas Giovanni; her granddaughter, Kai Giovanni; two cousins, Haynes Ford and his wife Delores; their daughter Chantel, and granddaughter, Mia; as well as Allison [Pat] Ragan, her husband Beau, and their children Zachary and Lauren, along with Lauren's husband John Wilkerson and their children Aria and Kobe. She is also survived by a nephew, Christopher Black.

A Special Memorial Tribute will be held at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, at noon, Thursday, December 19, 2024, with words of commemoration by Rev. Reneé Kesler, president of Beck Cultural Exchange Center. Memorial Services entrusted to Jarnigan & Sons Mortuary.