Frederick Douglass Center Launch with Poet Nikki Giovanni
Frederick Douglass Center Launch with Poet Nikki Giovanni
All tickets have been reserved via registration. Please check your email for your ticket. Ticket holders are asked to arrive early and be seated at least 15 minutes before the event begins.
A standby line will be available 30 minutes prior to the event (5 p.m.). The standby line is first come, first served and will begin seating 15 minutes before the event begins (5:15 p.m.). We are thrilled by your interest but cannot guarantee a seat for those who were unable to register. Thank you!
ABOUT THE EVENT
Join us on Wednesday, April 24th as we inaugurate the new Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities, a hub for humanities scholarship and programming that engages the public and works towards social justice and equity, with a special event featuring world-renowned poet, educator and activist Nikki Giovanni. Her work exploring race, gender, sexuality and the African American family has inspired generations to fight for change. Giovanni will chat with ARHU Associate Dean GerShun Avilez, who leads the Douglass Center, and ARHU Dean Stephanie Shonekan, as well as answer audience questions. A reception will follow.
This free event is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities, Arts for All and the Division of Student Affairs.
ABOUT NIKKI GIOVANNI
A prolific author and recipient of many awards for her poetry, Nikki Giovanni first emerged as a prominent figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and ’70s. Her poetry often addresses themes of race, gender, family and social justice with raw honesty. She has taught at various universities and is a university distinguished emerita professor at Virginia Tech. The winner of multiple NAACP Image Awards and the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry, she was also named one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends.” Giovanni made headlines in 2020 for penning a poem titled “Vote” on the importance of civic engagement.