Maya Angelou

An American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer, Angelou published seven autobiographies, several books of poetry, multiple books of essays, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She was singer, a dancer, an actress, composer, and Hollywood’s first female Black director. Her work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is ranked it as one of the most influential books of modern times, and her poetry has influenced multiple aspects of society from education to the modern hip-hop music.

Her early life included appalling suffering at a young age, but through her writing she was able to recover from that trauma. Angelou’s honestly of her experiences, unashamed nature to walk in the truths of her past made her and her writing the authentic voice of a cultural generation. Angelou was also a courageous civil rights activist, serving as the northern coordinator for Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and working with Malcolm X to establish the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

The recognition for Angelou goes far beyond her myriad of accolades, including three Grammy awards, the Spingarn Medal, the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and more than 50 honorary degrees. She was a truly unique visionary, who’s legacy will live on and on.

Whether talking about the scourge of discrimination or the evil of sexism she had much to teach this generation and generations unborn about what it means to be an authentic person, and the power of the genuine. — Rev. Jesse Jackson