Phenomenal Woman | Remembering Maya Angelou
By: Kwana Adams
Every time Black History month comes along, many articles pop up about historical black figures and their contributions to black history. I know you’re tired of it, but here’s another one. This person is significant to me, and I will always shout my love for them from the rooftops. This article is about one of my favorite black women of all time: Maya Angelou. She had such a long and beautiful life; it continually amazes me. She is one of my most significant role models and answers to, “who do I look up to?”
As a black woman and a writer, she stands out like a star for me. I can recite “Phenomenal Woman” word for word. Her poems and her books just speak to me on such a deep level. I never tire of reading them. I’ve always considered myself a great writer, but my Achilles heel is writing poetry. It’s one of the things I struggle with when it comes to being a writer.
Every time I read one of her poems, I marvel at the talent she had for putting words together and making them sound beautiful and flow so effortlessly. She had such a beautiful way with words for someone who didn’t speak a word for five years of their life. During this period of her life, she immersed herself in all kinds of literature, reading authors such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and even Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe. Although there were many men authors whose work she familiarized herself with, it was a black woman who finally helped her gain her voice back. In a way, Ms. Angelou is that woman for me. I like to think that ‘Phenomenal Woman’ was written for little black girls like me, as a child, who needed someone to tell them those words. I am a phenomenal woman, and so is every other black woman.
As a writer, anything and everything can be an inspiration. When I find myself struggling for words, I love to read her work and get out of my element; just go outside and find my own words. It helps me to read the work of legends and imagine myself one day being in their shoes. Her words and her work are important to me. Having black women figures to look up to in general is essential to me. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a man’s world. Ms. Angelou never dulled her shine for men, and neither shall I. One of my favorite lines from one of her poems is,
“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the hope and the dream of the slave.
I rise.
I rise.
I rise.”
Maya Angelou Recites a Poem at Bill Clinton’s Inauguration
My main ambition to succeed in life is to make my family and my ancestors proud. Sometimes when I think about life and where we are in history, I think about the suffering that my ancestors went through for me to be able even to be typing this right now. I think of every generation who got another step closer to making a better life for their descendants. Maya Angelou put all of those feelings into words for me, and I wish I could thank her. Since I can’t, this article is my tribute to her. Thank you, Maya. Thank you for teaching me why the caged bird sings. Thank you for helping me find my voice.
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