Nikki Giovanni: December 4, 1984

The Poetry Center presents Nikki Giovanni, talking with the audience and reading from her poetry. Giovanni opens by vigorously denying claims of having visited apartheid South Africa, and articulates her position vis-à-vis boycotts of that nation and the stance of some U.S. Americans, before turning to her poems, which are bracketed by extensive commentary between the lines. An unnamed student representative of The Women's Center, "a referral and support center for women" within the Student Union at SF State, who introduces and invites women to visit the center, notes the 30-year history of The Poetry Center (and John Ashbery's approaching reading) before briefly providing an introduction to Nikki Giovanni. Following her reading and an ovation for Giovanni, Muata Kenyatta takes the stage and speaks briefly, with the video recording ending abruptly.

The event, at San Francisco State's César Chavez Student Center, takes place one month after the landslide re-election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. President. Giovanni's appearance was co-presented by Associated Students Performing Arts, The Women's Center, and The Poetry Center, San Francisco State University.