Maya Angelou's words to Tupac Shakur on the set of John Singleton's Poetic Justice:
"Do you know that our people slept, laid spoon fashion in the filthy hatches of slave ships...in their own and in each other's excrement, and urine, and menstrual flow? So that you could live - 200 years later? Do you know that? Do you know that our people stood on auction blocks so that you could live...?"
While everyone seems to be focused on the fact that Dr. Angelou made Tupac cry (how shocking - he was a human being!) it is her consistency of courage that should momentarily leave us in awe and serve as lifelong inspiration.
Dr. Angelou was ALWAYS delivering that message. Her message has remained consistent -- to her loved ones, students, fans, Tupac, President Obama, Dave Chappelle & I suspect anyone who enjoyed the honor of her graceful presence - Do you know how important you are?
Why is 'Phenomenal Woman' an anthem for women of all hues, ethnicities, shapes & sizes? Because it reminds us all of how important we are - as women, as individuals, as human beings.
President Obama echoed this sentiment with his remarks Wednesday after learning of her passing, “With a kind word and a strong embrace, she had the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children; that we all have something to offer,” he said. “And while Maya’s day may be done, we take comfort in knowing that her song will continue, ‘flung up to heaven’ – and we celebrate the dawn that Maya Angelou helped bring.”
If you think that Dr. Maya Angelou's mantra of self worth was the product of having had a safe & comfortable life, think again. As a girl, she survived rape at the hands of her mother's boyfriend who died shortly thereafter.
I decided that my voice had killed a man.
The shock of these events rendered Maya mute for at least six years.
In her taping of Iconoclasts with Dave Chappelle, she reminisces about when she began speaking again - "Words became very important to me"
Whose voice will carry on the tradition of telling us how important we are? Could you mute your social posts for even 6 days ...what could you learn about yourself?
Maya's spirit is threaded along the continuum of hip hop influence which was started by true poets. THANK YOU DR. ANGELOU!! Thank you for Tupac's 'Keep Ya Head Up', Lauryn Hill's 'Doo Wop (That Thing)', Queen Latifah's 'U.N.I.T.Y.' and Nas' 'I Can'.
QUESTIONS for discussion:
- Why is it important that the medium of rap music continue to inspire us?
- What was the last song that inspired you to reach your full potential?
- When was the last time you created something from scratch (poem, story, song, art, etc)?
