On The Cover: Maya Angelou

Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most famous and significant voices of our time. Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture. Maya Angelou once said “You are the only person who can forgive yourself. Once that forgiving has taken place, you can then console yourself with the knowledge that a diamond is the result of extreme pressure … The pressure can make you into something quite precious, quite wonderful, quite beautiful and extremely hard”. She rose above them all to teach her greatest lesson to humanity which is her belief in forgiveness and personal evolution. Maya Angelou known for her close collaboration with Malcolm X for building an organization of African American Unity or with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who asked her to serve as Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The assassination of Martin Luther King, which fall on her birthday in 1968, and the assassination of Malcolm X left her devastated. Maya’s work includes her award winning books I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, and Gather Together in My Name. She also wrote a screenplay called Georgia, Georgia and became the first black American to see her own script transferred onto the big screen. And we will always remember her feature role in the landmark television series of Alex Haley’s prize-winning novel Roots or in the latest movie called Madea’s family reunion produced by Tyler Perry Company. She made history by becoming the second poet in this century to read verse at a presidential inauguration. Her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” was requested by then President Bill Clinton and it only added to her well-known repertoire of soul inspiring poetry. Dr. Angelou’s reading of her poem “On the Pulse of the Morning” was broadcast live around the worldDr. Angelou who has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received 3 Grammy Awards. Dr. Angelou’s words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and heal our hearts. Ends