Overview
Watch the performance:
Superstar bassist and NJPAC Jazz Advisor Christian McBride hosts a free virtual event with acclaimed poets Nikki Giovanni and Evie Shockley. They’ll explore social justice themes in both conversation and live performance. Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, activist and educator, winner of the Langston Hughes Medal, 7 NAACP Image Awards, the Presidential Medal of Honor, a Grammy nominee and among Oprah’s 25. Evie Shockley is an award-winning poet and professor of English at Rutgers University, a two-time recipient of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
“and she said: god created heaven and earth
and all that’s Black within them”
–Nikki Giovanni
“i’ve never forgotten the charred bitter fruit of holiday’s poplars, nor will i :
it’s part of what makes me evie : i grew up in the shadow of southern trees.”
–Evie Shockley
