Aug 30, 2007

Dr. Maya Angelou


Hey Icon I would be sorely remiss if I didn’t include my God Mother (She doesn’t know that she is), Mentor and She-Ro; in the Savvy Sisters, Savvy She-Roes.

I’m only going to tell you a little bit about Dr. Maya Angelou because she has done sooooo many things that it would take a book to include them all.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, MO. She is a Writer, Poet, Educator, singer, dancer, actress, producer, director, and civil rights activist and most recently the spokesperson for the American Red Cross.

She attended public schools in Stamps, Arkansas and San Francisco, California. Dr. Maya has been honored by numerous academic institutions throughout her career and awarded several honorary doctorates, but she never received a college education.

Among her academic honors are a Yale University fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship, a position as writer in residence at the University of Kansas at Lawrence, a lifetime chair as the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University and many visiting professorships at universities throughout the United States.

Dr. Angelou speaks fluent English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and West African Fanti.

She has been widely recognized for her creative writing achievements.

Dr. Angelou has authored twelve best-selling books including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her current best-seller A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

In January 1993, she became only the second poet in U.S. History to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at the Presidential Inauguration.

What makes Dr. Maya my mentor and she-Ro is that among all she is; she is very well spoken, and every time you listen to her you are going to learn something. Here are just of few of my favorite quotes:

“Success is internal, being able to look in the mirror when you brush your teeth and like what you see, and not drop your eyes. Liking yourself, and liking the person you want to be and liking the person you're trying to become. And that is it. That puts you at ease in any company. Whether you're black in white company, or white in black company, you're at ease. Christian with Jews at ease, because you know your heart and you know how you feel. That is true success.”


“I'll tell you my secret about writing and my encouragement to young men and women: READ. If you want to write, read, and here's a gem of a hint: read and read aloud. Go into your room and hear how your language sounds in your mouth and in your ear. Let it out because poetry in particular is music written for the human voice.”


“I have a mission, which is to teach.”

Dr. Maya sounds a lot like me. Maybe that’s why I love her so much. You are my Savvy She-Ro.

1 comments:

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