American - Poet | April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014
I promised myself that I would write as well as I can, tell the truth, not to tell everything I know, but to make sure that everything I tell is true, as I understand it. And to use the eloquence which my language affords me.
Maya Angelou
TruthMyselfMeLanguageI CanKnow
I never had that feeling that I had to carry the weight of somebody's ignorance around with me. And that was true for racists who wanted to use the 'n' word when talking about me or about my people, or the stupidity of people who really wanted to belittle other folks because they weren't pretty or they weren't rich or they weren't clever.
IgnoranceStupidityPeopleMeRich
At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.
LifeMeChoicePlaceSurrenderHad
I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too.
RespectMyselfBecauseEverybodyToo
One of my lungs is half gone, and the other half, because I smoked for years, has a lesion. So I can't swim anymore and had the swimming pool covered over. Now it's what I call the dance pavilion, and so I and my friends sit out and put music on and watch people dance.
MusicDancePeopleSwimmingFriends
My mom was a terrible parent of young children. And thank God - I thank God every time I think of it - I was sent to my paternal grandmother. Ah, but my mother was a great parent of a young adult.
MotherGodChildrenGreatTimeMom
My greatest blessing has been the birth of my son. My next greatest blessing has been my ability to turn people into children of mine.
SonChildrenBlessingPeopleBirth
I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.
LoveGirlWorldGoYoungSee
I'm just like you - I want to be a good human being. I'm doing my best, and I'm working at it. And I'm trying to be a Christian. I'm always amazed when people walk up to me and say, 'I'm a Christian.' I always think, 'Already? You've already got it?' I'm working at it. And at my age, I'll still be working at it at 96.
GoodAgeBestWalkPeopleMe
If you will have a person enslaved, the first thing you must do is convince yourself that the person is subhuman. The second thing you have to do is convince your allies so you'll have some help, and the third and probably unkindest cut of all is to convince that person that he or she is subhuman and deserves it.
YourselfHelpYouPersonWillShe
At one time, you could sit on the Rue de la Paix in Paris or at the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv or in Medina and you could see a person come in, black, white, it didn't matter. You said, 'That's an American' because there's a readiness to smile and to talk to people.
SmileTimePeopleBlackAmerican
Achievement brings its own anticlimax.
AchievementOwnBrings
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