Diversity Event: Truth is on Its Way

Truth is on Its Way!

I went to the diversity event called Truth is on Its Way. It was a lecture with guest speaker Nikki Giovanni. She grew up during the 1960s Black Arts Movement. She is one of America's most distinguished and widely read African American poets, authors and essayists. She has been a very well spoken activist for a quarter of a century and is determined as ever. She fights for civil rights and equality in education. Nineteen of her twenty books are sill in print today. Some of her books are Black Feeling, Black Talk, and Black Judgement. She also writes children's books.

She shared with us the process of her children's book, Lincoln and Douglas: An American Friendship. It was about how Ab Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas had a friendship in the sense that they were both working towards freeing the slaves. She told of a story when Ab Lincoln received too much change and was honest enough to give it back. It was only a nickel but a nickel would have bought an acre of land in Lincoln Heights at the time. Lincoln Heights is where all the African Americans fled to from Cincinnati when the lynching was going on and it is where Nikki grew up. Lincoln and Douglas had a few things in common like a dry sense of humor and they both loved food.

She also read some of her love poems. She told us, that if you are not in love, you should be. Get rid of the ideas about what you think love is or who it is and just find something, anything that you love.

She is an African American, who is constantly fighting for her rights and others. She is currently a professor at Virginia Tech and has survived lung cancer. I found her very inspirational. She definitely has a strong voice and knows where she stands.

My favorite quote of hers was, "All you have is your voice."