Living in a state of terror was new to many white people in America, but black people have been living in a state of terror in this country for more than 400 years.
Category Archive: Maya Angelou
The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
I think that that’s the wisest thing – to prevent illness before we try to cure something.
While the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man’s humanity to man.
I’m always disappointed when people don’t live up to their potential. I know that a number of people look down on themselves and consequently on everybody who looks like them. But that, too, can change.
The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God – if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.
Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.
And if a person is religious, I think it’s good, it helps you a bit. But if you’re not, at least you can have the sense that there is a condition inside you which looks at the stars with amazement and awe.
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.
I think music is one of the hero/sheroes of the African-American existence.