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Proclamation honoring in memoriam, beloved author and poet, Maya Angelou.
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WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou, an internationally known author, performer, educator and human and civil rights advocate, passed away on May 28, 2014, at 86 years of age; and
WHEREAS, she was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, moved to Stamps, Arkansas, at the age of three to live with her grandmother, and later adopted the name Maya Angelou; and
WHEREAS, the childhood victim of rape, after a four-year period of not speaking at all, Maya was befriended by a caring teacher, who introduced her to classic literature and helped her find the tools that would later allow her to become an eloquent and commanding voice for the excluded and dispossessed of America; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Angelou overcame a childhood marred by trauma and Jim Crow segregation and started a career as a dancer and calypso singer; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Angelou’s talents extended to the stage and movie screen, earning the actress a Tony nomination for the play Look Away and an Emmy nomination for her role in the monumental television miniseries Roots; and
WHEREAS, in the early 1960s, Dr. Angelou relocated to Egypt and Ghana where she covered cultural, political and civil rights issues as a freelance journalist, and worked to cultivate international relations between the United States and countries throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, following her return to the United States, Dr. Angelou expanded upon her influence in the Civil Rights Movement by working alongside renowned leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and joining the esteemed Malcolm X to establish the Organization of Afro-American Unity; and
WHEREAS, throughout her life, Dr. Angelou was also a staunch supporter of women’s rights, using her mighty pen to encourage women to advance their influence in social organizations and professional industries and become vocal advocates in their journey for equality; and
WHEREAS, Dr...
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