Heard on campus: Nikki Giovanni at MLK Day of Service evening celebration

"Martin (Luther King Jr.) had to know when he stood on that stage on that Monday evening in Montgomery (beginning the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955) that a clock had started ticking, that an hourglass had turned over. He knew from then his life was beginning to slip away. He knew he would not make it out, and yet he never wavered. He never stepped back. He was courageous and a great man. It is important that we honor him because we as a species do not get many great people, and the ones we do get we need to make sure we take care of them, and at least remember them."
-- Nikki Giovanni, internationally acclaimed poet and honored professor, speaking Monday (Jan. 17) at University Park's Eisenhower Auditorium as keynote speaker of the 2005 Martin Luther King Day of Service Evening Celebration. Giovanni delivered a blend of humorous stories and observations, unique insights into civil rights history and a few of her renowned poems as she helped celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.