Biden mourns ‘pioneering’ poet Nikki Giovanni

President Biden released a statement mourning Nikki Giovanni, calling her a “pioneering” poet who "used her pen to advance racial and gender equality and confront violence, hate and injustice."

Giovanni died Monday in Blacksburg, Virginia at the age of 81. Her wife, Virginia C. Fowler, said she died in a hospital due to complications of lung cancer.

“Born in segregated Knoxville, Tennessee, she became a renowned activist, professor, and literary legend who had that courage in her hands and in her heart,” Biden said in a statement.

“A pioneering poet of the Black Arts Movement and the Civil Rights era, she used her pen to advance racial and gender equality and confront violence, hate and injustice, alongside some of the most esteemed artists and icons of the past century,” he continued.

Giovanni was a prominent part of the Black Arts Movement, a cultural wave of Black nationalism that was born out of the civil rights movement, becoming one of its best-known poets. She also made regular television appearances and toured the country, The New York Times wrote in her obituary.

She wrote poems covering topics like race and social struggle, but also penned children’s literature.

Giovanni received numerous awards and 27 honorary degrees from colleges and universities. She was given the NAACP Image Award seven times and was named one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 Living Legends in 2005.

She taught at various colleges and universities and was named a distinguished professor at Virginia Tech until she retired in 2022.

“Her wit and intellect earned her numerous accolades, including the Langston Hughes medal, an Emmy award, and a Grammy award nomination,” Biden said. “A three-time cancer fighter, Nikki offered words of wisdom that gave hope to countless others fighting disease and despair.”

Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden send their love and condolences to Giovanni’s family, including Fowler, her son and granddaughter, and “all those who loved and admired that something special, her courage.”