Светлая память, Maya Angelou

(April 14, 1928 - May 28, 2014)

I will always remember Maya Angelou, American poet and author, as the Lady of Language who showed me it was okay to have a big smile.

Linocuts of Maya Angelou on hand dyed papers, May 28, 2014

Linocut of Maya Angelou by Suzanne Coley

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" was one of the first books I read in school that addressed racism, trauma, and being a Black female. I will never forget this passage:

"The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power.

The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic admiration."

-- Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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