Today we pay Tribute to Maya Angelou... May her Soul Rest In Peace!

I know this may be like a week or two late, but I wanted to wait till the realization of Dr Maya Angelou's passing had sunk in. Many of us were lucky enough to have known her and to be alive to hear all that she said and read all that she wrote. I wanted to do a tribute in remembrance of her and to educate those who didn't quite know her. To the younger generation, I'm sorry that you never got to see her or sit in awe as she spoke. You missed an angel and one of the best and most inspiring females to walk this earth. Don't worry though, she wrote many books and poems and I would definitely advise at least reading one of her amazing works. 

Tribute to Dr Maya Angelou 

(4 April 1928-28 May 2014) 

Name: Marguerite Annie Johnson

Occupation: Poet, Civil Rights Activist, film producer, dancer, television producer, playwright, film director, author, actress and professor.
Ethnicity: African American

Dr Maya Angelou, a great woman indeed. She made her dreams a reality and as a young girl, my mother stayed talking about Maya, how she was an inspiration to many. She was an amazing poet, I'm not particularly a poetry fan but her poems were exceptional and very hard not to enjoy. She has published 7 autobiographies, 3 books of essays and several books of poetry. She's received dozens of awards and over 30 honorary doctoral degrees. She is best known for her autobiographies which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. 

Things you might not have known about Dr Maya:

• Her older brother nicknamed her "Maya" derived from "My" or "Mya Sister".
• She changed her professional name to "Maya Angelou" a "distinctive name" that set her apart.
• She was mute for almost 5 years until her teacher Mrs. Bertha Flowers helped her speak again.
• She was active in the civil rights movement and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
• In 1993, Dr Angelou recited her poem On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since 1961.
• Attempts have been made to ban her books from some US libraries, but her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide.
• She worked as the first black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco.
• She appeared in an off-Broadway review that inspired the film Calypso Heat Wave, in which Angelou sang and performed her own compositions. 
• She lived in Accra, Ghana from 1962-1965.
• Evidence suggests that Angelou was partially descended from the Mende people of West Africa.
• She did not earn a university degree but it was Angelou's preference that she be called "Dr. Angelou".
• Tributes to Angelou and condolences were paid by artists, entertainers and world leaders including President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama whose sister was named after Angelou.
• She was working on another book, an autobiography about her experiences with national and world leaders before she passed. 

Pay a visit to her website www.mayaangelou.com. 

It was an honor knowing you even from a distance, You'll forever be an inspiration to us all! May she live on in every one of us. Your words were a source of motivation to those before us, to those in the present and we pray that those in the future may also know you and what you stood for.


May her Soul Rest In Peace!

Peace, Happiness and Love.

X

I got my info from Wikipedia. To read more on her go to en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou.