Maya Angelou (Courtesy Photo)
NOTE: This speech is part of a Black History Month assignment at NationHouse Independent Afrikan-Centered School where young people wrote speeches as a historical figure.
Americans everywhere, my name is Maya Angelou and I was an American author, actor, screenwriter, dancer, poet, and civil rights activist best known for my 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman. I received several honors throughout my career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category in 2005 and 2009.
I may have left the physical world but I am here to talk about the new generation in spiritual form. I am truly proud of how the new generation has grown and matured in a way that racism is more manageable.
I see young Black activists like Amanda Gorman who are following the earlier generation’s path to equality. This young beautiful African-American woman is a poet laureate of Los Angeles, first national youth poet, and Harvard graduate. She was personally invited to be the youngest person to speak at President Joe Biden’s inauguration by First Lady Jill Biden, who had previously seen the poet do a reading at the Library of Congress. Amanda Gorman was not afraid to point out the racism and sexism that African-American women were going through at the time and even read a poem called The Hill We Climb that moved people’s hearts all over the world.
In her poem, she says “When the day comes, we ask ourselves, ‘where can we find light in this never-ending shade, ‘the loss we carry, a sea we must wade? We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We have learned that quiet is not always peace and the norms and notions of what just is not always just-ice. And yet dawn is ours before we know it, somehow, we do it.” In this poem, Amanda Gorman is encouraging not only African Americans but people all over the world to just get up and fight for what they believe in. In this poem, she’s truly doing what I hoped the future generation would do. She has shown me that there is hope for this generation.
In the past, I used poems to express what I felt as an African-American woman. I wanted to show people that even though every individual is different, that does not mean everyone should also not be equal. I may have helped make a better environment for African Americans but without everyone, I would have done much. I once heard someone say to me “Many hands make light work.” This proverb is especially important because you need everyone’s help for equality. Now I see the new generation using this everywhere now with George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests.
The recent Black Lives Matter protests had a big support boost on June,6,2020 when half a million people turned out in 550 places across the United States. That was a single day in more than a month of protests that continue today. The Black Lives Matter uprisings were mostly nonviolent. This is because of people like Martin Luther King Jr. who led the March on Washington, which was crucial for African Americans getting their equality. This was a time when we could be heard. When there was violence, very often police directed it at the protesters.
I once said that “I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me.” It seems my time is running out. But I thank you for listening to what I have to say about the new generation. And I hope you take everything I said to you to heart.
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928. In addition to being a poet, civil rights activist, and publisher, she was an author, actor, screenwriter, and dancer who went to California Labor School. She spent a lot of time in Africa living in Egypt and then in Ghana, as an editor and a writer. Maya Angelou’s good friend and writer James Baldwin told her to write about her life experiences. The book was called “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” This was the first nonfiction bestseller by an Afrikan-American woman. With all of Maya Angelou’s actions, she was an inspiration to the Afrikan community to speak out about their problems.
The Watoto Speak! 