It’s not every day you get to meet a living legend, much less sit and do lunch with one. On Friday, November 1st, TRUSIC Music co-owner-Dane Dell took the opportunity to live this extraordinary experience. Dell attended a small luncheon hosted by the Vice President of Research at Syracuse University and was just 1 of 15 people able to sit and share intimate dialogue with world-renowned writer, poet, and activist, Nikki Giovanni.
Nikki Giovanni has published over 30 books for adults and children, and has even created music albums in which she performs spoken word to the tune of Gospel music. Not only has her written works received many national awards, her albums have also received many honors including a Grammy nomination for “Truth Is On Its Way”. During the luncheon, Nikki shared her thoughts on a variety of topics including the need for Black youth to travel and see the world, the injustices of the prison system, some of her radical views on drug control in America, and her dissatisfaction with the Movie- “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”.
"What I loved about her is how candid she was”, says Dell. “She’s authentic and down to earth”. Whether you agree or disagree with her opinions, Giovanni speaks from the heart and is firm in her beliefs because she is well informed and is a product of her wealth of experience and education. Nikki Giovanni might not know it, but she’s a TRUSIC in every single way. Nikki’s philosophy is that we can all make a difference in the lives of others by first making a difference with ourselves. She remains a prominent voice of the black community and committed to advocating for civil rights and equality.
Today Giovanni serves as a Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech University where she has been on the faculty since 1987. To learn more about Nikki Giovanni and her work, visit her official website.