Dr.
Maya Angelou
On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Johnson was born in St.
Louis. Because of her parents' separation, she was sent
at a young age to 
live
with her grandmother in segregated, rural Arkansas where
Marguerite became shortened to her nickname, Maya.
Maya
Angelou has achieved worldwide fame as a poet, historian,
author, playwright, singer, dancer, playwright, social
activist, producer, and director. She has published
ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles,
winning both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award
nominations. At the request of former President Clinton,
she wrote and performed "On the Pulse of Morning" at
his 1993 presidential inauguration and is the current
poets laureate of The United States.
Dr.
Angelou began her career as a destitute single mother
when she discovered her gift for writing and the theatre.
She enjoyed success as a professional actress in New
York in the 1950's. She was the featured dancer in the
original touring company of Porgy and Bess and then
went on to enjoy success as a cabaret singer. She was
among the first African American women to hit the next
best seller list with her autobiography, "I Know Why
The Caged Bird Sings".
In
the 1960's, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., she became the northern coordinator for the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference. She was appointed by
President Ford to the Bicentennial Commission, and by
President Carter to the National Commission on the Observance
on the International Year of the Woman.
Dr.
Angelou has also been very active abroad. She has lived
in Cairo and was the editor for The Arab Observer, the
only English-language weekly newspaper in the Middle
East. In Ghana, Dr. Angelou was the feature editor of
The African Review and taught at The University of Ghana.
In addition to her famously articulated English, Dr.
Angelou speaks French, Spanish, Italian, and West African
Fanti.
In
addition to stage work, journalism, and writing, Dr.
Angelou has been a groundbreaker for African American
women in the film and television industry. She has produced
several prize-winning documentaries including "Afro-Americans
in the Arts", a PBS special which earned the Golden
Eagle Award. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for
her acting in the series "Roots" and she wrote and produced
a ten part series on African traditions in American
life. In film, Dr. Angelou has worked as a screenwriter,
director, and actress. She performed most recently in
the movie "How to Make an American Quilt" and her poetry
was featured in the film "Poetic Justice".
Dr.
Angelou now lectures extensively throughout the United
States and is a Reynolds Professor at Wake Forest University
in Winston Salem, North Carolina. She has become very
well known due to appearances on "The Oprah Winfrey
Show". Her writing contains themes of love and universality
of all lives. Dr. Angelou states, "The honorary duty
of a human being is to love."
Maya
Angelou has proven to be a "caged bird" that was set
free by the arts and poetry. Someone who, "just like
the sun and moon with the certainty of tides, just like
hope springing high" will always rise. She is the ideal
"phenomenal woman".
Therefore, it is with great honor and respect that ARTS
FOR LIFE presents the Lifetime Achievement Award for
significant contributions to the Literary and Performing
Arts to Dr. Maya Angelou.
Biography-June 17, 2001.
The presenter of this award, Ms. April
Lomax, is a young lady whose life has been directly
affected and positively encouraged by Maya Angelou's
writings. As a tribute to Dr. Angelou, Ms. Lomax has
written a poem based on Dr. Angelou's poem "Still I
Rise".
I'm
Still Rising
By April D. Lomax
Dedicated to Maya Angelou
People have pushed me down
And even made me cry,
But I got right back up
And kept on rising high.
I've proven to this society
That I have the will to rise above,
I've shown to my community
That it's harder to hate than to love.
I've learned to carry my head a little higher
And never to look down,
And I've made my ancestors dreams come true
Even though they're not around.
I've let a trail of fallen tears
To be my little sign,
To show how much I've accomplished
And the problems I left behind.
I've sang the song of victory
Because the long road has come to an end,
Even though I know
Another road will soon begin.
But as Maya Angelou says
The famous "And Still I Rise",
I'm still rising
To the unlimited skies.
