NOTED POET FEATURED AT B-CC
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER RIBBON CUTTING 

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA  – Nikki Giovanni, one of America’s most outspoken and widely read poets, will present the dedicatory poem at the ribbon cutting/blessing ceremony for the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, September 3 at 11:45 a.m.

NIKKI GIOVANNI

Since 1968, Giovanni has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the African American community through her poetry and prose. She has authored 20 books of poetry; an essay book, Racism 101, tackling all sides of the racial issue, an illustrated children’s book and edited the multicultural anthologies, Grand/Mothers and Grand/Fathers.  Her latest book, Blues For All The Change, made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List, marking the first time a poet has ever been listed.

Giovanni is currently teaching writing, poetry and literature at Virginia Tech University, where she has been named University Distinguished Professor.

“Her work has been an inspiration for a generation,’’ said Dr. Johnson Akinleye, Dean of the B-CC Division of Humanities. “We feel honored to have an educator of this caliber as a part of what will be a historic day for the Bethune-Cookman College family.’’

The ribbon cutting/blessing ceremony will also include an official African blessing, a multi-denominational prayer, performances from the world-renowned B-CC Concert Chorale and Gospel Choir, community presentations and tours of the facility. The program is intended to emphasize that the facility will serve as a cultural center for the immediate area as well as the central and northern Florida regions.

The Center will also accommodate and showcase nationally prominent performers and performances to help diversify the cultural offerings in the Daytona Beach region, and enhance student and faculty exposure to high-quality professional performances.

The 2,500-seat, $23 million structure, will provide a capacious setting for the College’s many cultural and performing arts offerings. It will allow the College to accommodate, serve and nurture its own community at a new level of convenience, comfort and quality. The Center will also enable the College to showcase the talents of its faculty and students as well as its cultural and performing arts programs to the benefit of the larger community.

The Center will stimulate the development of new programs and the fostering of alliances with other collegiate performing arts and cultural programs.

Admission to the ribbon cutting is free and the public is invited. There will be a commemorative gift as well as refreshments. Complementary parking will be available and directed by B-CC personnel.  

For more information, contact (386) 481-2710 or the B-CC Office of Public Relations at (386) 481-2991.

Bethune-Cookman is a comprehensive college, which offers degrees in liberal arts as well as professional fields, such as business, education and nursing. A United Methodist Church-affiliated school, the college has a diverse and international student population of more than 2,500 and a solid reputation for academic excellence. As evidence of its outstanding program, the College has been listed in the Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and Universities, and it was ranked by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 50” schools in the nation for black students.

For more information, contact our website www.bethune.cookman.edu. 

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