Nikki Giovanni Quotes

Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way.

There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don't expect you to save the world I do think it's not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.

She knows who she is, because she knows who she isn't.

Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and the world will envy the dexterity of our feet. If we can’t have ham, we will boil chitterlings; if we are given rotten peaches, we will make cobblers; if given scraps, we will make quilts; take away our drums, and we will clap our hands. We prove the human spirit will prevail. We will take what we have to make what we need. We need confidence in our knowledge of who we are.

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.

A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it.

The unwillingness to try is worse than any failure.

The only way you can grow is to let yourself make mistakes and create contradictions. As we learn new things, some of our old attitudes will change.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

Mistakes are a fact of life. If you are willing to be wrong then you have earned the right to be right.

If now isn't a good time for the truth I don't see when we'll get to it.

We have a world to conquer...one person at a time...starting with ourselves.

Now, everything I do, I do because I want to. And I believe the best is yet to come.

Once you know who you are, you don't have to worry anymore.

We are better than we think and not yet what we want to be.

In the name of peace They waged the wars ain't they got no shame

You must be unintimidated by your own thoughts.

We love because it's the only true adventure.

Art offers sanctuary to everyone willing to open their Hearts as well as their Eyes.

The poet can only write the poems; it takes the reader to complete the meaning.

You do what you can with what you have. You have to work the edges whatever they are. The main thing is keeping your integrity.

I am a huge fan of the Black woman. I never hesitate to recommend her when times are bad or things go wrong.

I would put books on par with chocolate, because a good book is delicious.

We [Black people] have always used our creativity to battle and we're not the only ones. Black Americans are certainly leaders in that simply because we were denied education and dealt with enforced illiteracy. But people seem to always forget that literacy is not the only way of learning things or conveying knowledge.

If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else.