Award winning author, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has died. Angelou was found dead on Wednesday morning in her North Carolina home. Her caretaker discovered the 86-year-old; who had recently been plagued by unspecified health problems. Angelou had previously declined to attend the 2014 MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon on May 30, where she will be honored for her life’s work. MLB stated that Angelou could not attend due to “health reasons,” now it seems the luncheon will serve as an even more important memorial for the now deceased activist, who was set to receive the “Beacon of Life Award,” before the annual Civil Right’s Game in Houston.
Angelou was one of the most renowned authors and poets of our time; she used her words to also become a pillar within the Civil Rights movement, and was peaceful yet proactive activist. Her passion for writing was first ignited following a childhood tragedy, at 7 years old, a young Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. After testifying against him, he was beaten to death by an angry mob.
Angelou has spoken about the horrific memory; “My 7-and-a-half-year-old logic deduced that my voice had killed him, so I stopped speaking for almost six years.” Despite her silence, a louder and more powerful voice was born through written word. Her 1969 autobiography “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” recounts the events, and her inspiring coming of age story. Due to her amazing civil right’s work and of course her inspiring works, we have collected 25 of Maya Angelou’s quotes to celebrate her life and lasting legacy.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -- Maya Angelou
“My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.” -- Maya Angelou
“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.” -- Maya Angelou
“While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation.” -- Maya Angelou
“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” -- Maya Angelou
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” -- Maya Angelou
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” -- Maya Angelou
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” -- Maya Angelou
“It i time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” -- Maya Angelou
“You can't forgive without loving. And I don't mean sentimentality. I don't mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, 'I forgive. I'm finished with it.'” -- Maya Angelou
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” -- Maya Angelou
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” -- Maya Angelou
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” -- Maya Angelou
“All great achievements require time.” -- Maya Angelou
“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” -- Maya Angelou
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” -- Maya Angelou
“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” -- Maya Angelou
“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.” -- Maya Angelou
“I'm grateful to intelligent people. That doesn't mean educated. That doesn't mean intellectual. I mean really intelligent. What black old people used to call 'mother wit' means intelligence that you had in your mother's womb. That's what you rely on. You know what's right to do.” -- Maya Angelou
“You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” -- Maya Angelou
“One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” -- Maya Angelou
“A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.” -- Maya Angelou
“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.” -- Maya Angelou
“I'm convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they're stones that don't matter. As long as you're breathing, it's never too late to do some good.” -- Maya Angelou
“What is a fear of living? It's being preeminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness. The antidote is to take full responsibility for yourself - for the time you take up and the space you occupy. If you don't know what you're here to do, then just do some good.” -- Maya Angelou
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