Oprah Winfrey said of Angelou, she was my Spiritual Queen Mother. “And everything that that word implies. She was the ultimate teacher. She taught me the poetry of courage and respect.”
Winfrey said Angelou taught her to look beyond trouble and spot the rainbow in the clouds. Maya Angelou liked to say that people will forget what you said or did in your life, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Michelle Obama said Maya Angelou’s message was simple.
“She told us that our worth has nothing to do with what the world might say. Instead she said each of us comes from the creator trailing wisps of glory. She reminded us that we must each find our own voice, our own value and then announce it to the world with all the pride and joy that is our birthright as members of the human race.”
Obama said Angelou was authentic. At a time when there were stifling constraints on how a black woman could exist in the world, she disregarded the rules.
“She was comfortable in every last inch of her glorious brown skin. But for Dr. Angelou her own transition was never enough. You see she didn’t want to just be phenomenal herself, she wanted all of us to be phenomenal right along side her.”
Death has never been an enemy said Andrew Young. “I know that in our children and our children’s children and in generations yet unborn, our sister, our mother, our friend, will always be with us.”
And Angelou’s son, Guy Bailey Johnson said there’s no mourning for her. “We have added to the population of angels, and she has left each one of us with something in our hearts.”
Country singer Lee Ann Womack sang Dr. Angelou’s favorite song, “I Hope You Dance.” “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder…..
Maya Angelou once described herself as a poet in love with "the music of language." She led a remarkable life linking worlds of civil rights, poetry, acting and teaching.
