Maya Angelou remembered in Chicago
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The late Maya Angelou was no stranger to Chicago. The voice of the acclaimed poet, storyteller, and activist resonated with Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, and those at St. Sabina Church on the city's South Side.
Dr. Angelou, best known for her book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," published in 1969, died on May 28, 2014, at the age of 86 in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
"Today, the thoughts and prayers of the people of Chicago join countless millions around the world in mourning the passing of Maya Angelou. Dr. Angelou was a true national treasure. Through poetry, song, dance, and the spoken word, Dr. Angelou gave voice to generations of Americans and became an unstoppable force for peace, civil rights, and social justice," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said through a statement. He was a White House advisor when Angelou read "On the Pulse of Morning" at Pres. Clinton's first inauguration.
The civil rights activist, who worked with both Dr. Martin Luther and Malcolm X, served on two presidential committees for Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Bill Clinton in 2010 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 by Pres. Obama.
Angelou helped the Poetry Foundation, based in Chicago, develop a curriculum for teaching essential African American poetry to students of all ages, according to the website, upon which some of Angelou's works - including A Plagued Journey, Awakening in New York, Caged Bird, California Prodigal and Kin - are posted.
Jamila Woods, a poet in residence at the foundation, was inspired by Angelou as a child, she said. "They always have this big poster of her. I remember asking my mom who is that? And her saying that Maya Angelou, she's a poet. And that just blew my mind at 5 years old. Like, wow. That's somebody's job! I didn't know that was possible," Woods said.
The foundation's poetry blog wrote, "We're deeply saddened to learn this morning of the death of Maya Angelou, the legendary poet and activist whose writing inspired a wide audience."
Angelou's audience ranged from Oprah Winfrey, who called her a mentor-mother-sister-friend, to parishioners at Chicago's St. Sabina's Church, where she spoke about a dozen times, most recently in 2010.
"She really loved coming here. No matter how bad she felt, she'd come," Father Michael Pfleger said. "We need voices like Dr. Maya Angelou, who continue to encourage us, challenge us, love us and make us wrestle. She did all of that. She is one of those voices that, I think, give breath to humanity."
Chicago director Bob Hercules was working with Angelou on a documentary about her life and legacy.
"To think that a woman could've gone from the edges of poverty and racism and segregation in the Jim Crow south to having her portrait installed at the National Portrait Gallery was amazing, majestic moment for all of us, Hercules said.
Angelou was a mentor to Oprah Winfrey, whom she met while a young reporter in Baltimore. Winfrey released a statement on Wednesday.
"I've been blessed to have Maya Angelou as my mentor, mother/sister, and friend since my 20's. She was there for me always, guiding me through some of the most important years of my life. The world knows her as a poet but at the heart of her, she was a teacher. 'When you learn, teach. When you get, give' is one of my best lessons from her. She won three Grammys, spoke six languages and was the second poet in history to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration. But what stands out to me most about Maya Angelou is not what she has done or written or spoken, it's how she lived her life. She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace. I loved her and I know she loved me. I will profoundly miss her. She will always be the rainbow in my clouds," Winfrey wrote.
Winfrey wrote about her relationship with Angelou in the December 2000 issue of O Magazine. She said their connection was instant.
"We talked as if we had known each other our entire lives; and throughout my twenties and in the years beyond, Maya brought clarity to my life lessons. Now we have what I call a mother-sister-friend relationship. She's the woman who can share my triumphs, chide me with hard truth and soothe me with words of comfort when I call her in my deepest pain," Winfrey wrote.
Angelou was in Chicago for the "Oprah Winfrey Show" farewell on May 17, 2011, and another interview was published to oprah.com in May of last year.
Oprah: Well, it's a great honor to have you here. We've known each other for so long now, I actually feel like your daughter.
Maya: You are my daughter.
Oprah: I am your daughter. And you are my mother, my sister and my friend, from the very first day we met.
Maya: I am all that.
