![]() "Life loves the liver of it," she wrote.Īngelou never wavered in her commitment to community, but she also practiced self-love and self-care in public. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul." What Angelou showed us throughout her life was joy: one can reckon with great pain and adversity, but still be happy just to be alive. That expression is in the tradition of Zora Neale Hurston, who once remarked, "I am not tragically colored. There is another, more obscure hashtag that reminds me of her: #CareFreeBlackGirl. But for me, her love of the good life was an inspiration. Who could forget the vision of her wearing that splendid coat reading the inaugural poem for President Bill Clinton? She lived well – and there are those who would fault her for it, as though her prosperity and popularity somehow undermined the message of her words or negated her contributions to social justice. Hers were healing words for men and well as women, a laying on of hands.Īngelou showed us how to live as well as how to write. While her single brave voice didn't ignite an immediate public conversation, it sparked countless private ones. Writing with such love for her community, Angelou was able to point the finger at one man, while still expressing her great love for the men in her community who loved, nurtured and even avenged her. Maya Angelou navigated the minefield that is accusing a black man of rape, all while black men were laboring under the stigma of being assumed to be rapists. We must also remember that she did so before the term "intersectionality" was coined to describe the treacherous crossroads of racism and sexism. This is what happens when our elders do their work well: Angelou kicked the door open so wide that within her own lifetime there existed younger people who didn't quite remember that there was ever a door there at all. ![]() ![]() (Indeed, her own guilt and shame rendered her mute for five years.) As millions of women took to Twitter last week using the hashtag #YesAllWomen to share their experiences of sexual assault, I doubt anyone was thinking of Maya Angelou. Let us take a moment to remember that Angelou wrote about her experience as a rape survivor over 40 years ago, despite a culture of silence and shame.
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