Patrice Gaines
Journalist and author of
Laughing in the Dark and Moments of Grace
31
My spiritual part of me says we are being prepared for what will be our specific future before we even know it.I point to my reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as one of those moments. I was about 20, had already been sexually molested as a young girl, was hurling toward life as a heroin addict and was the single mother of what was then called an "illegitimate child." My self-esteem fit into my pinky finger. But in this book I read for the first time about the real life of a young colored girl like me. I had lived in the South and knew firsthand segregation and racism. Instead of growing, I was shrinking. I felt the world was stacked against me. But something in me said, "If Maya Angelou can make it, so can you."
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings helped prepare me for my future. I didn't know then I would become a writer and write an autobiography of all things. I didn't even know I would heal from being molested and later raped. I couldn't imagine I would one day speak up for myself and others. But I had the faith of a mustard seed after reading about Maya's life. I didn't know how I could become something other than what I believed I was--a powerless, young colored woman who shot heroin. Yet, I knew it was possible to create a totally different life.
A Maya Angelou stamp was among stamps 12 stamps of African American authors issued by Ghana or Uganda in 1997. (Photo courtesy of E. Ethelbert Miller)
Mr. Miller worked with the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation (IGPC) and was responsible for placing 12 black American writers on postage stamps. The honorees were: Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, Mari Evans, Henry Louis Gates Jr, Charles Johnson, June Jordan, Toni Cade Bambara, Sterling A. Brown, Alex Haley, Stephen Henderson, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright.
E. Ethelbert Miller
poet, writer
I only had one conversation with
Maya Angelou. It took place on Nov.
13, 1997, when I placed 12 African American authors on postage stamps issued by Uganda and Ghana. Angelou
that day was extremely gracious. I knew the nation of Ghana was special to her. The support she gave to my project made it a special day in my literary life.
13, 1997, when I placed 12 African American authors on postage stamps issued by Uganda and Ghana. Angelou that day was extremely gracious. I knew the nation of Ghana was special to her. The support she gave to my project made it a special day in my literary life.