Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tenn., and grew up in Cincinnati. She earned her undergraduate degree from Fisk University in 1967, and attended the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work. She began her writing career in 1969 when she received a grant from the National Foundation of the Arts to attend Columbia University's School of Fine Arts and published her first book, Black Feeling, Black Talk. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, and has held a number of teaching positions including a visiting professorship in English at Ohio State in 1984-85. The African American Farewell Celebration is an annual event sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council at Ohio State, the governing body of Ohio State's nine traditional African American sororities and fraternities.
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