Nikki Giovanni

One of the most popular and acclaimed Black poets of the 20th century, Nikki Giovanni came of age in the heady, militant era of the Civil Rights Movement, and her most influential poetry was suffused with the spirit of a new age. While attending Nashville's all-Black Fisk University, she served as an assistant in the writers' workshop and got involved in the university chapter of SNCC, a non-violent Civil Rights organization. After graduating, she moved to New York in 1968 to attend Columbia's School of Fine Arts, and published three poetry collections between 1968 and 1970 to considerable attention and acclaim. In 1971, Giovanni recorded some of her most celebrated poems for the Right On label as Truth Is on Its Way, with gospel backing by the New York Community Choir. The record was a hit, climbing to number 15 on the R&B album charts.