Nikki GiovanniThe University of Alabama at Birmingham African American Studies Program will host the annual Spring Colloquium in celebration of Women’s History Month featuring this year’s keynote speaker highlight, Nikki Giovanni. The free, open-to-the-public event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Hamilton Ballroom at the Hilton Birmingham at UAB, located at 808 20th St. South.
With more than 50 years of experience as a poet, writer, commentator and activist, Giovanni is deemed a prominent voice of the Black Arts Movement and has provided insightful and bold commentary on issues such as race, gender and inequality.
Giovanni is also a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech University. In addition to her prolific career as an author and poet, she has received numerous awards and honors, including the Langston Hughes Medal, the Maya Angelou Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Award nomination for the Best Spoken-Word Album.
She has written more than 30 books, numerous poems, essays and sound recordings. Her most recent book, “A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter,” was published in 2017.
“Dr. Giovanni has had a multifaceted, distinguished career, and we are delighted to host her here at UAB as she shares her poetry, nuggets from her books, and words of wisdom as an activist and educator,” said Kathryn Morgan, Ph.D., professor and director of UAB’s African American Studies Program.