On International Women's Day I happened to see that the PBS American Master's Show about Maya Angelou was on Amazon Prime. I just finished reading all of her autobiographies last year, but I was curious to see film clips and I wondered if they had any new information. Obviously, I'm a little obsessed with her, and who isn't, right?
I read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" when I was probably 11 or 12, and I identified so strongly with it. Since then, I've read a lot of her poetry, and as I already mentioned, all of her autobiographies. I've been to two of her readings, and I actually got to talk to her once...Or I tried to anyway.
She came to read at a very small event at a library in San Francisco in 1986. I went with my boyfriend's mom and one of his sisters. His mom didn't like me at first. The first time I met her, I overheard (although, I'm pretty sure she wanted me to hear) her say to him, "Why are you with this ugly white girl when there are so many beautiful black women you could date?" Which, wasn't very nice, but I get it. I've lived in places where I've been one of the few white people, and I've lived where there were mostly white people. I know I won't surprise you when I say, there is a WHOLE bunch of racism in this country, so it's understandable that she might not want her son dating someone who looks exactly like the oppressor.
Honestly, though, most of the white guys I dated had mom's who weren't super thrilled about them dating me either. If you haven't met me before in person, I'll just educate you about me - I'm more than a little weird, and rough around the edges. Also, I am ridiculously socially awkward. I don't dress well, my hair is all over the place, and my mom used to call me a rag-a-muffin for good reason. Of course, I think those are all amazing things about me, but I understand that not everyone else does. So, anyway, I wasn't too shocked or hurt by his mom's comment. I dated that particular man for at least two years, and we lived with his mom for a short time, so she got to know me better, and while I'm sure I would never have been her first pick for her son, she did warm up to me a little.
One of the big things we had in common was our love of literature. She would ask me if I had read a certain novel, and we would talk about what we thought. So, when she found out Maya Angelou was going to read at a library in town, she asked me to go with her. His mom was really excited to meet Dr. Angelou, and after an incredible reading, we got in line to talk to her.
When It was my turn, she held my hands in both of hers and looked straight into my eyes. If you have ever stood anywhere near her, you know what I'm talking about when I say that her power and grace is enough to make anyone lose their train of thought. I did give it my best try, I want you all to know. So, I was super smooth and said, " I can't..I can't...I can't even..." And that was all I COULD say
Dr Angelou laughed and said, "Well, I guess you can't!" And we all had a good laugh. Thank gawd she had enough social grace for the both of us.
Anyway, I want to recommend the American Master's show on Maya Angelou. If you don't know much about her, you should, and if, like me, you have read all of her autobiographies, you will still find out new things and the photos and videos in it are delightful. I'm just sad that she is no longer walking this earth to be able to grace us with her strength.
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