Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr.. was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Called Nikki from an early age, she is considered a leader in the black poetry movement. After graduating from Fisk University with a history degree, Giovanni went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work and the Columbia University School of Fine Arts. Believing that change is necessary for growth, Nikki’s poetry is renowned for its urgent call for black people to embrace their own identity and to fully understand white-controlled culture. Her poetry collection, Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black ]udgment, captures the militant attitude of the civil rights and black arts movements of that time. Her work has been honored with an NAACP Image Award as well as the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry Giovanni prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, and a professor of English."