Another of Maya Angelou’s quotes that I love is this one. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Still, I was shocked at Maya Angelou’s message to us because she didn’t say the expected, didn’t use her poetic prowess, and didn’t follow the popular narrative of today. Instead, she candidly reviewed her life and explained her journey in a way that was extraordinarily objective, humble, and brave.
She ignored the fallback position of many who love to stand on the systemic racism soapbox yet spoke of her history in the most personal terms totally void of anything except the human perspective. Hers was an amazing read.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist who published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry as well as plays, movies and television shows spanning fifty-years. She also had more than fifty honorary degrees.
As she spoke today, I had a respect for her that I didn’t necessarily have when she was alive because back then, I tended to shy away from all activists. Today, it was her soul who came to speak, and souls are always free of an agenda, except just to help us in this lifetime.
With all famous minds and writers who stop by, I’m always initially intimidated and hope I capture their thoughts accurately—that is, until they begin to speak. Then, it’s just them and me and it flows.
“Don’t worry about capturing my thoughts accurately, Sandy. Nobody expects to read another of my classics, and I’ll keep it pretty simple. When you think about it, it would be a little intimidating to translate for some of the greatest minds and most prolific creative talents of all time. Not sure I’d sign up for that job. Lucky you.
“It is easy for a life to get caught up in a mission. Mine was being a Black woman. My past was a challenge, and I was quite proud of how I interpreted that journey in a way that allowed people to embrace my feelings—not pull away because of the harshness of my language. Brutality is ugly when it is described in tangible terms but the feelings one has in the face of brutality can be expressed in a way that makes people reach out in love for the writer and allow them to feel compassion for that person as well as others with similar struggles. I was blessed with a gift to do just that, and poetry was the perfect, delicate vehicle to describe the most sensitive and also the most horrific experiences in palatable terms.
“See, Sandy, that wasn’t so bad, was it?
“As my life processed, I got caught up in the political world, the activist role and the celebrity. It is easy for a person to become swayed with that much attention. I felt most pure when I was writing; everything else is what I had to account for in my life as I came here. Most misdeeds were driven by ego which is so easily inflated because of the enormous amounts of attention. Imperfection is almost impossible to avoid. Still, overall, I felt as if the second part of my life was a reward for all I went through in the first part, not split equally but occurring in sections, the first and the second. I hope that makes sense.
“As a Black Woman more attention was paid to me as a writer. The same work could have been written by a white woman without all the eventual clamoring. It is almost like people didn’t expect accomplished poetry from someone of my race and that’s a shame. Even from other Blacks who put me on a pedestal, there was a certain bit of racism in all of it. What would be ideal is that great work simply to be recognized as great work, regardless of who wrote it. The pain of a Black Woman’s childhood is felt with as much empathy as the pain of a white woman’s similar childhood. One day, perhaps people will become color blind but only if society allows it.
“I don’t believe people realize that when one magnifies the attention for someone Black who achieves—what they are really saying is that that accomplishment from such a source was unexpected. Yet, many Black individuals reach greatness beyond anyone’s imagination. I’ll take sports and Michael Jordan as an example. Michael Jordan could have been green, and people would have still been in awe of his athleticism. No one ever gave Michael credit because he was Black, he just happened to be Black and yet nobody ever mentions Blackness in sports anymore! An athlete is an athlete is an athlete. We should be like that with all achievement from everyone in every situation.
“I’m proud of my poetry and other writing. I’m proud of my talent in the life you all remember, and I am proud that people appreciated it. I’m still not sure if all the attention I received wasn’t magnified a little bit because of my Blackness. If you go back and read my work, perhaps you can judge that for yourself … Maya”
She had a great idea, which I hope my readers will take seriously. Some messages make us think, some messages make us smile, and others make us more curious about the soul who is coming to visit. It’s the curiousness that leads us to pick up one of their books or read more about their lives elsewhere.
Perhaps you will take Maya Angelou’s challenge and see if her poetry was truly worth the acclaim she achieved. I’ll bet you’ll say it was.