tribute

In Remembrance of
a Phenomenal Woman,

Maya Angelou
b y D . J a n e l l P e r ry

Venerable poet and renowned author Dr. Maya Angelou passed

away on May 28th. Angelou, who had been experiencing health
challenges prior to her death, was 86 years old.
Born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, the St. Louis
native was raised on and off in Stamps, Arkansas and other various
cities in the Midwest and West Coast by her paternal grandmother
(Momma), Annie Henderson.
Angelou memorialized her journey in six autobiographical books
before her passing; one of her most infamous in the collection is I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
The literary work was published in 1970 during the civil rights
movement, and seemed to issue a new era of autobiographical
writing.
In this piece, Angelou unleashes an avalanche of previously ignored black female voices during a time when black women were
often ignored or unrecognized survivors of unimaginable obstacles.
With Mommas guidance and the watchful eye of her crippled
paternal Uncle Willie, Angelou was exposed to some of the best
African-American cultural traditions despite the horrific backdrop
of the Jim Crow South.
However, later in her adolescence, the relocation to Chicago to live
with their mother, Vivian Baxter, served as a traumatic turn in Angelous life; Baxters boyfriend Mr. Freeman sexually assaulted her.
Angelou only admitted the offense to Bailey, who soon informed
the family of the violation; Mr. Freeman was found beaten to death
soon after, which resulted in Angelous refusal to speak for five years.
The same woman who would be recognized years later for her
powerfully distinct voice had decided to silence it because she believed it was responsible for her predators demise.
Back in Stamps, Momma never forced her to speak; she simply
believed in time Angelou would use her voice in a dynamic and
profound way.
Angelou became compelled to speak again after being exposed
to the works of William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes by
her teacher Mrs. Bertha Flowers. Flowers assured a then infatuated
Angelou that she would never appreciate the full force of those
words if she never spoke them herself. s
Although Angelou left Stamps at age 13 to join her mother, this
time in the Oakland/ San Francisco area, she often wrote that
Stamps served as the foundation from which she touched the world.
Angelou would go on to graduate from Mission High School eight
months pregnant by a boy she did not love. However, she always

insisted that her only child Clyde Guy Johnson was a blessing.
In 1985, she told Essence,The greatest gift I ever received was
my son. . . .When he was four . . . I taught him to read. But then
hed ask questions and I didnt have the answers, so I started my
lifelong affair with libraries. . . .Ive learned an awful lot because of
him.
She began her career performing in nightclubs and studying
dance under the legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey. Angelou
also appeared in theatrical productions alongside well-known
players such as James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson. She also wrote
scripts for film and television.
Her impact on American culture, specifically in the African-American community, has been adorned by the literary, political and
celebrity communities alike.
Encouraged by her good friend, James Baldwin, soon after moving to Harlem, Angelou began writing I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings, which became an instant classic upon publication.
Angelou was then catapulted to international stardom and had
earned her first National Book Award nomination, not to mention
a made-for- television movie in 1979.
Her 1978 book of poetry entitled, And Still I Rise, yielded Phenomenal Woman, which immediately struck a chord with AfricanAmerican women. It assisted them in affirming their unique and
inner beauty, and since then has become an unofficial anthem.
Angelou had a limitless capacity for championing justice and
equality through several creative outlets; she was a poet, memoirist, dancer, singer, actress, playwright, producer, director, teacher,
civil rights activist and womens right advocate.
Her life was a testament to the power of possibility, and affirmation that one is only limited by the limitations he/she places on his/
her own creativity.
Ive learned that people will forget what you said, people will
forget what you did, she was frequently quoted as saying,but
people will never forget how you made them feel. S
Fall 2014 Savoy 47

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9/19/14 2:31 PM