Wearing a long burgundy velvet dress and a long string of pearls, poet and author Maya Angelou told a crowd recently that filled a South Side church to “sit down because I came here to talk.” In her fifth appearance at St. Sabina church, Angel
The theme of the night was “have courage,” and it was also a surprise birthday celebration for the selfprofessed teacher. Angelou turned 80 on April 4 “Without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently,” the Grammy Awardwinning poet said.
Angelou won the award in 1993 for Best Spoken Word Album for “On the Pulse of Morning,” a poem written for President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration She said our ancestors who toiled while tilling the fields picking cotton had the courage to say, “I’m Black and I am somebody,” long before the term “Black is beautiful” was coined.
Their resolve was amazing and we tend to forget that “we’ve already been paid for,” Angelou said. “We’re all here because we’ve had somebody who had courage. Courage to do the right thing,” she said, but sometimes the right thing is not always practiced. “Some people do things for other reasons that may not be good, such as greed.
But we know what’s right. As my grandmother always told me, ‘You know what’s right,’” the polyglot said. Angelou is fluent is five languages, besides English. She speaks Arabic, Ghanaian Fante, French, Italian and Spanish.
The Missouri native captivated the audience of nearly 1,200 with her words of wisdom for more than one hour, and often injected humor that kept the crowd wanting to hear more. At one point she said, “ I could talk for hours, but I won’t out of kindness.”
Angelou is often reminded of her own courage%uFFFD instilled by her grandmother%uFFFDwhen she sees the impact her work has on others. She said her poetry has been her savior. “I used to think I was a writer who taught. But now, I realize that I’m a teacher who writes. My stories teach. That’s why I tell you that you have no idea the power of your courage,” she said.
Dubbed “Ms. Divine Angel” by Rev. Michael Pfleger, St. Sabina’s pastor, Angelou said parents must muster the courage to talk to their children. “You can’t be afraid of your children. You must have the courage to talk to them.
They are begging for you to talk to them. Teach your children because they deserve it. They didn’t ask to be here. They want to be taught,” she said. “Courage helps you to liberate others. When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”
Also a professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., Angelou presented the audience with a project. She wanted everyone to remove racial epithets from their vocabulary for one week, to start, and to not associate with others who use them. “They [racial slurs] are hurled around like stink bombs,” Angelou said.
“The ‘N-word’ should never be used by anyone. It was created as poison to dehumanize. After that week is completed, “You will be amazed at how good you feel,” she said. “Then try for another week. Before you know it, it will be one month since you’ve used them,” Angelou said.
Before Angelou closed the evening, she put on her reading glasses and treated the audience to two poems. Afterwards, Pfleger took a seat at the organ and the audience sang “Happy Birthday” for the multi-talented “teacher.”
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