{"id":7110,"date":"2020-02-05T09:59:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T15:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/?p=7110"},"modified":"2020-02-05T09:59:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T15:59:16","slug":"dear-dr-angelou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/2020\/02\/05\/dear-dr-angelou\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Dr. Angelou"},"content":{"rendered":"

IT’S FEBRUARY SO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS…IT’S BLACK HISTORY MONTH YOU GUYS! (the shortest month of the year)<\/em><\/p>\n

To celebrate I have decided to dedicate a blog post to African American artists for the whole month of February. Whether they may be perished or alive, I really want to express my appreciation towards them. Because they help pave the way so I, a black artist, can succeed. So, with that being said, for my first blog post I have decided to write a letter to the divine, Maya Angelou.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Dear Dr. Angelou,<\/p>\n

As a young girl, I always knew about you, even though I was never introduced to you. “The great and talented Maya Angelou,” is what I always heard when your name was mentioned. I was thirteen when I discovered the documentary\u00a0Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise.<\/em>\u00a0While watching the documentary I immediately became inspired. This may sound a bit odd, but I felt a connection with you, Dr. Angelou.<\/p>\n

You see, when I was a little girl I did not speak. I have a speech impediment that causes me stutter and mispronounce words. I was bullied by my family members and others.\u00a0 I became very ashamed and self-conscious about the way I spoke. So, I decided to remain quiet, and communicate to others by simply pointing my hands. The only person I spoke to was my mother because she was the only one who could understand me. I began to take private speech lessons in preschool, and this lasted until I was in the 3rd grade. I was shy, quiet, and did not have many friends. As a result, I turned to reading and writing to entertain and comfort me. When I learned that you were mute, it made me feel accepted in a way. I understand that you decided to be mute for a completely different reason, but I found it inspiring that you took that tragic experience and transpired it into something phenomenal… your book:\u00a0I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I wish that I\u00a0 had the chance to meet you, watch you recite one of your poems, or even be in your presence. Even though it saddens me that I will never get the opportunity to meet you. I want to thank you. I want to thank you for never believing in the ones who didn’t believe in you. I want to thank you for never giving up even though times were extremely hard to be a black woman. I want to thank you for reminding me that I am a phenomenal woman\u00b9. I want to thank you for your writing, acting, dancing, singing, and activism. Finally, I want to thank you for providing an example and and being a phenomenal role model. For little black, magical girls and little black, joyful boys to look up to. I thank you, Dr. Angelou.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Stephyne Weathersby<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Maya Angelou: Sunrise: April 4, 1928 Sunset: May 28, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

Maya Angelou was an African American poet, singer, dancer, memoirist, and civil rights, activist. She published autobiographies, essays, books of poetry, plays. Performed in movies, and television shows in her lifetime.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\n

Phenomenal Woman\u00b9 – A poem written by Maya Angelou.<\/p>\n

\n
Phenomenal Woman\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
By: Maya Angelou<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.<\/div>\n
I\u2019m not cute or built to suit a fashion model\u2019s size<\/div>\n
But when I start to tell them,<\/div>\n
They think I\u2019m telling lies.<\/div>\n
I say,<\/div>\n
It\u2019s in the reach of my arms,<\/div>\n
The span of my hips,<\/div>\n
The stride of my step,<\/div>\n
The curl of my lips.<\/div>\n
I\u2019m a woman<\/div>\n
Phenomenally.<\/div>\n
Phenomenal woman,<\/div>\n
That\u2019s me.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I walk into a room<\/div>\n
Just as cool as you please,<\/div>\n
And to a man,<\/div>\n
The fellows stand or<\/div>\n
Fall down on their knees.<\/div>\n
Then they swarm around me,<\/div>\n
A hive of honey bees.<\/div>\n
I say,<\/div>\n
It\u2019s the fire in my eyes,<\/div>\n
And the flash of my teeth,<\/div>\n
The swing in my waist,<\/div>\n
And the joy in my feet.<\/div>\n
I\u2019m a woman<\/div>\n
Phenomenally.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Phenomenal woman,<\/div>\n
That\u2019s me.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Men themselves have wondered<\/div>\n
What they see in me.<\/div>\n
They try so much<\/div>\n
But they can\u2019t touch<\/div>\n
My inner mystery.<\/div>\n
When I try to show them,<\/div>\n
They say they still can\u2019t see.<\/div>\n
I say,<\/div>\n
It\u2019s in the arch of my back,<\/div>\n
The sun of my smile,<\/div>\n
The ride of my breasts,<\/div>\n
The grace of my style.<\/div>\n
I\u2019m a woman<\/div>\n
Phenomenally.<\/div>\n
Phenomenal woman,<\/div>\n
That\u2019s me.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now you understand<\/div>\n
Just why my head\u2019s not bowed.<\/div>\n
I don\u2019t shout or jump about<\/div>\n
Or have to talk real loud.<\/div>\n
When you see me passing,<\/div>\n
It ought to make you proud.<\/div>\n
I say,<\/div>\n
It\u2019s in the click of my heels,<\/div>\n
The bend of my hair,<\/div>\n
the palm of my hand,<\/div>\n
The need for my care.<\/div>\n
\u2019Cause I\u2019m a woman<\/div>\n
Phenomenally.<\/div>\n
Phenomenal woman,<\/div>\n
That\u2019s me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IT’S FEBRUARY SO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS…IT’S BLACK HISTORY MONTH YOU GUYS! (the shortest month of the year) To celebrate I have decided to dedicate a blog post to African American artists for the whole month of February. Whether they may be perished or alive, I really want to express my appreciation towards them. … Continue reading “Dear Dr. Angelou”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7110"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7110"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8200,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7110\/revisions\/8200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}