The death of beloved rapper Tupac Shakur knocked the breath out of us. Even though she didn’t know Shakur personally, poet Nikki Giovanni grieved Shakur’s passing heavily.
Giovanni thought about writing a letter to Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur. Giovanni wanted Afeni to know she wasn’t alone in her grief, but she changed her mind.
Shakur had “Thug Life” tattooed across his stomach, so Giovanni got “Thug Life” tattooed on her inner left forearm. The New York Times published a photo of Giovanni’s tattoo, and Afeni Shakur saw it. She then wrote to Giovanni. While the two were never close, when Afeni passed in 2016, Giovanni wrote a poem titled “Afeni.”
Reflecting on the tattoo, Giovanni once shared with an audience that if “Thug Life” was “incendiary enough to murder a promising 25 year old” she’d take her chances, too. Now in her 80s, Giovanni’s “Thug Life” tattoo is the only tattoo she has.
Giovanni’s ode to Shakur reminds us we never know who we’ll permanently impact. But our impact is only as powerful as our intentions. What are our intentions for liberation? The intentions we set now will have a direct impact on future generations.