A standing ovation greeted Nikki Giovanni when she stepped onto the stage in the Ryan Family Auditorium on Wednesday evening. The author, poet, civil rights activist and current professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University encouraged a crowd of about 250 students and Evanston residents to continue fighting for their beliefs while recounting the now-famous story of her friend, Rosa Parks.
Giovanni stands at a mere five feet, two inches, but the minute she started to speak, it became clear that what she may lack in height she makes up for in sharp wit and big opinions.
Being friends with Rosa Parks, she said, was like being friends with the Queen. Parks made it obvious that “she’s the Queen and you’re not.”
Giovanni used her Caldecott Honor children’s book, Rosa, and the pictures in it as a visual while talking about Parks’ life, from her days caring for her sick mother to the day in 1955 when Parks refused to give up her seat on a racially-segregated bus.
Parks saying “no” to racism was one of the “biggest yes’s in America,” Giovanni said.
Giovanni also mentioned other historical events in the U.S. civil rights movement. Concerning the murder of Emmett Till, she said that people should never use alcohol as an excuse for their actions. The supposedly intoxicated men had beaten Till until, she believes, they were beating a dead body.
According to Giovanni, “no one should be a man of his time.” Men of their times, she said, included slaveowners, lynchers and the Nazis.
“We should all be glad Rosa Parks was not a woman of her time but a woman of the future,” she said, receiving a round of applause from the audience.
Regarding the future of students, she said this “generation is not happy” and is too focused only on material things and getting a “good” job.
“If you can’t brag about [what you're doing], then why are you doing it?” she said. “When are we going to stop being afraid of the future? Enjoy your life.”
A panel discussion with six students and members of the Evanston community from different backgrounds followed Giovanni’s lecture.
For Members Only, Northwestern’s Black Student Alliance, sponsored the event, which was funded by the Student Activities Fund.