Maya Angelou
April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014
U.S. G.I.R.L.S. celebrate the life of author, poet, and entertainer, Maya Angelou who transitioned to her heavenly home at the age of 86, leaving behind a cosmic hole in the heart of the literary universe.
I remember it well; a humid Thursday, September 11, 1997, when Maya Angelou visited Jacksonville, FL as part of the University of North Florida's Presidential Lecture Series. She captivated the audience of over 5,000 (which included member Valerie and myself) as she molded stories into songs and weaved songs into poems without pausing. I was a graduate student on a mission, but what I found, was my purpose.
Her theme for the evening was how poetry can serve as a rainbow in the clouds, proof that ''even at the dreariest time you can see hope.''
And though she showed pride in our African-American heritage and womanhood through the poems of strength she recited, the then 69-year-old heralded tolerance among the races, among ''white brothers and sisters and white nephews and nieces."
''We have the right and the privilege to call each other brother and sister,'' she said. ''Human beings are more alike than we are unalike.''
Since then, I have read and collected many of her quotes or ANGELOUisims (as I refer to them) that touched on topics that relate to women, friendship, forgiveness, food, spirituality and the human experience. Some are serious, and some are witty, but they all carry a quintessential message. Here are some of my all time favorites:
1. "Elimination of illiteracy is as serious an issue to our history as the abolition of slavery."
2. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel."
3. "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud"
4. "You can't forgive without loving. And I don't mean sentimentality. I don't mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, "I forgive. I'm finished with it."
5. "You may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."
6. I'm grateful to intelligent people. that doesn't mean educated. that doesn't mean intellectual. I mean really intelligent. What black old people used to call "mother wit" means intelligence that you had in your Mother's womb. that's what you rely on. You know what's right to do."
7. " A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.
8. "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain"
9. "Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it."
10. "I work very hard, and I play very hard. I'm grateful for life. And I live it - I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it."
11. "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again."
12. "In so many ways, segregation shaped me, and education liberated me."
13. "The idea is to write it so that people will hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart."
14. "The best comfort food will always be greens, cornbread, and fried chicken."
15. "The most important thing that I can tell you about aging is this: If you really feel that you want to have an off-the-shoulder blouse and some big beads and thong sandals and a dirndl skirt and a magnolia in your hair, do it. Even if you're wrinkled."
16. "Eating is so intimate. It's very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you're inviting a person into your life."
17. "I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life."
18. "Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant."
19. "If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform into one million realities"
20. "I got my own back."