Maya Angelou.

The Mother of Maya Angelou.

UK Disgrace:
When Maya was growing up, she didn't really understand her mothers character.
She explained that it was a very different time back then, in the 1950s
Whereas racism and sexism were practised unapologetically.
Her words for me, brought back memories of teachers using racial slurs, and classmates laughing, as if it was meant to be funny.

The sexism that I myself had once witnessed, was primarily male teachers, carrying out unwanted contact with children.
There was in fact so much more, which back then appeared to be the norm, but would in this day and age be associated with both physical and sexual assault.
And that doesn't even begin to consider the blatant prejudice.
Teachers care back then was like someone petting a dog, with a gun to its head.




Maya was right, even though she was in the USA, and I lived in the UK, it was a time of utter disgrace.
Most of what Maya had written such as, 'Rebellion and Resistance' not being part of the American spirit.
And the American view of patriotism and conformance to the law having high precedence, even though those laws were unjustly applied.
Was something much evidenced by the very similar attitudes adopted right here in the UK.

The greatest part of her story was that her mother was not having any of it, and she would confront and challenge the authorities, including the police, wherever there was any injustice.
Maya and her family thought that her mother had brought unnecessary attention upon herself because she had often fought other people’s battles.
It would have seemed to be extremely unusual back then, and her mother was branded a troublemaker.
However, the fact remains to this very day, that her mother was truly another proud fighter against injustice, and had every right to be such!

Maya Angelou was honoured with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama.

25 Quotes from Maya Angelou.

(1) I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

(2) When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are.

(3) If you are going down a road and don't like what's in front of you, and look behind you and don't like what you see, get off the road. Create a new path!

(4) Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.

(5) If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you will look forward, do so prayerfully. But the wisest course would be to be present in the present gratefully.

(6) Continue. Be loving and be strong. Be fierce and be kind. And don't give in and don't give up.

(7) Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

(8) If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.

(9) You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!

(10) My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.

(11) You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.

(12) Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

(13) Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather super-storm or spiritual super-storm, when we look at each other we must say, I understand.
I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathise with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike.

(14) Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself.

(15) Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage mean we face our fears. We are able to say, 'I have fallen, but I will get up'.

(16) You don't need another person, place or thing to make you whole. God already did that. Your job is to know it.

(17) At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.

(18) My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.

(19) We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

(20) Live life as if it were created just for you.

(21) If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased.

(22) We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.

(23) You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. Do not complain.

(24) This is a wonderful day, I have never seen this one before.

(25) When you know you are of worth, you don't have to raise your voice, you don't have to become rude, you don't have to become vulgar; you just are.
And you are like the sky is, as the air is, the same way water is wet. It doesn't have to protest.