Black Judgement

by Nikki Giovanni

Giovanni, Nikki

Genres: Poetry

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1968

About the author

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends". Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the "Poet of the Black Revolution". During the 1970s, she began writing children's literature, and co-founded a publishing company, NikTom Ltd, to provide an outlet for other African-American women writers. Over subsequent decades, her works discussed social issues, human relationships, and hip hop. Poems such as "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" have been frequently re-published in anthologies and other collections.
Giovanni received numerous awards and holds 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. Giovanni was honored with the NAACP Image Award seven times. One of her more unique honors was having a South America bat species, Micronycteris giovanniae, named after her in 2007.
Giovanni was proud of her Appalachian roots and worked to change the way the world views Appalachians and Affrilachians.
Giovanni taught at Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State, and was a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech until September 1, 2022. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she delivered a chant-poem at a memorial for the shooting victims.

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni’s second poetry collection seethes with anger. Published in 1968, the author responds directly to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, and other important figures. The late ‘60s and ‘70s were filled with many horrors. The passion in Black Judgment makes it an engrossing read, although deeply uncomfortable. Giovanni calls for violent Black revolution against White people, such as this reviewer:

“BLACK STEP TWO:
Outline and implement the program
All honkies and some negroes will have to die
This is unfortunate but necessary
[…]
“We have tried far too long to ally with whites
Remember the rule of thumb:
WILD ANIMALS CAN BE TRAINED
BUT NEVER TAMED
[...]
“You would not turn your back on a cobra
Even if it can dance
Do not trust a honkie
They are all of the same family”
(Of Liberation, pp. 83-84)
*
“What can I, a poor Black woman, do to destroy america? This is a question, with appropriate variations, being asked in every Black heart. There is one answer—I can kill…
“Obviously the first step toward peace is the removal of at least two fingers, and most probably three, from both hands of all white people…
May his blood choke the life from ten hundred million whites.”
(Reflections on April 4, 1968, p. 91)

*


[Image: Book Cover of Black Judgment]

“Blessed be machine guns in Black hands
All power to grenades that destroy our oppressor
Peace Peace, Black Peace at all costs

“We’re having our spring sale
200 honkies for one non-violent
[...]
“And to you my Black boy
A Revolution
My gift of love
Blessed is he who kills
For he shall control this earth.”
(A Litany for Peppe, p. 94)
*
“the barrel of a gun is the best
voting machine
your best protest vote
is a dead honkie”
(Ugly Honkies, or The Election Game and How to Win It, p. 121)
*

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[Image: Book Cover of The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998]

Citation:
Giovanni, N. (2008). Black judgment. In V. C. Fowler, Ed., The Collected Poetry, 1968-1998 (eBook; pp. 79–135). Harper Collins e-books. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00... (Original work published 1968)

Title: Black Judgment
Author(s): Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024)
Year: 1968
Genre: Poetry
Date(s) read: 2/25/25
Book 44 in 2025
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[Stephy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry is still the most deeply emotional connection one mind can make with another.