I FORGOT WHAT I WAS GOING TO
SAY.
WHATEVER I SAY NOW WILL BE
BETTER.
THANK YOU.
PASTOR.
ALL THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
MRS.
OBAMA, OPRAH, CECIL
Y, YOU
WERE WONDERFUL.
I WANT TO THANK
GUY FOR SENDING
ME A WONDERFUL LETTER AND
INVITING ME TO SPEAK TODAY.
I
LOVED MAYA.
THE LAST TIME WE WERE
TOGETHER
WAS JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO
AT THE LBJ LIBRARY IN AUSTIN.
THEY WERE
HAVING AND ANDY WAS
THERE AND THEY WERE HAVING A
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING
OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.
AND THEY HAD AN ALL-DAY
CONFERENCE.
I GAVE MY LITTLE TALK AND WE
WENT INTO THIS LUNCH.
IT WAS LIKE A POLITICAL VERSION
OF THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
[LAUGHTER]
BILL RUSSELL CAME UP AND HUGGED
ME AND REMINDED ME HOW SHORT I
WAS.
[LAUGHTER]
AND I LOOKED OVER AND THERE WAS
MAYA.
AND I WENT OVER TO HER AND I
HUGGED HER AND I SAID I CANNOT
BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN
YOURSELF HERE.
AND SHE SAID JUST BECAUSE I AM
WHEELCHAIR-BOUND DOES NOT MEAN I
DON'T GET AROUND.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
THAT GIRL GOT AROUND.
[LAUGHTER]
LET ME TELL YOU HOW THIS ALL
STARTED.
I FIRST ENCOUNTERED MAYA ANGELOU
AS A YOUNG MAN WHEN I READ "
I
KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS."
IT WAS WRITTEN IN
1970 BY THE
TIME I STARTED LAW SCHOOL AND
SHORTLY AFTER CAME OUT, I READ
IT AND I WAS THE ONE WHO WAS
STRUCK DUMB.
I THOUGHT, FIRST OF
ALL,
IT WAS
ABOUT 25 MILES FROM WHERE I WAS
BORN.
I HAVE A LOT OF RELATIVES IN
THAT LOCATION.
I KNEW THE PEOPLE SHE WAS
TALKING ABOUT AND THE PROBLEMS
SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
THE THING THAT STRUCK
ME ABOUT
THE BOOK EVEN MORE THAN THE
HORRIBLE ABUSE SHE ENDURED
AND
THE FIVE YEARS OF SILENCE THAT
FOLLOWED WAS THAT THIS LITTLE
KID, THE WHOLE TIME THIS WAS
GOING ON, WAS PAYING ATTENTION.
SHE MAY HAVE STOPPED TALKING BUT
SHE NEVER STOPS LOOKING.
SHE WAS PAYING ATTENTION.
AND
ABSORBING THE PEOPLE SHE SAW
AND THE PATTERNS OF LIFE, THE
EXPERIENCE AND TRIED TO MAKE
SENSE OF IT.
SHE HAD ENOUGH EXPERIENCES FOR
FIVE LIFETIMES.
WE COULD ALL JUST SHOW UP HERE
AND TALK ABOUT A PIECE OF HER
LIFE.
THINK ABOUT THAT --
SHE MOVED FROM BEING A MUTE
CHILD FROM BEING REUNITED WITH
HER MOTHER TO BEING IN A SCHOOL
OF DANCE AND DRAMA, TO BEING THE
FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN TO
BE A STREETCAR DIRECTOR IN SAN
FRANCISCO TO HAVING A
BABY, TO
HAVING TO BE A SHORT ORDER COOK
AND OTHER STUFF TO FEED THE BABY
AND KEEP BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER
AND THAT WAS WHEN SHE WAS A
TEENAGER.
SHE WAS NOT EVEN 20 YEARS OLD.
ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED TO HER.
IN HER 20'S, SHE WAS SINGING AND
DANCING AND ACTING IN THE U.S.
AND EUROPE.
IN HER 30'S, SHE
BECAME A MEMBER
OF THE HARLEM WRITERS GUILD.
BY 32, SHE MOVED TO EGYPT TO RUN
A NEWSPAPER AND BY 33, SHE WAS
LIVING IN GHANA.
THEN SHE MASTERED FIVE
LANGUAGES, WENT THROUGH YOUR
HORRIBLE ACCIDENT WITH YOU AND
HOW YOU BOTH WOULD COMPOSE THE
REST OF YOUR LIFE.
AND I ADMIRE YOU AND I'M
GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR THE LIFE YOU
HAVE LIVED.
[APPLAUSE]
THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND SHE MEETS MALCOLM X AND
COMES BACK HERE TO WORK FOR HIM
AND HE GETS KILLED.
SHE GOES TO WORK FOR MARTIN
LUTHER KING AND ON HER 40TH
BIRTHDAY, HE GETS KILLED.
WE COULD ALL JUST BE UP THERE
TALKING ABOUT HOW MAYA ANGELOU
REPRESENTED A BIG PIECE OF
AMERICA'S HISTORY.
AND TRIUMPHED OVER ADVERSITY.
AND PROVED HOW DUMB RACISM WAS.
BUT A GREAT
GIFT -- BUT HER
GREAT GIFT IN HER ACTION-PACKED
LIFE WAS SHE WAS ALWAYS PAYING
ATTENTION.
AND BY THE TIME SHE STARTED
WRITING HER BOOKS AND HER
POETRY, WHAT SHE WAS BASICALLY
DOING WAS CALLING OUR
ATTENTION
TO THE THINGS SHE HAD BEEN
PAYING ATTENTION TO.
AND SHE DID IT WITH A CLARITY
AND POWER THAT WILL WASH OVER
PEOPLE AS LONG AS THERE
IS A
WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORD.
THE CAGED BIRD WAS THE FIRST
MANIFESTATION OF HER GREAT GIFT.
OTHERWISE, SOMEBODY ELSE
WOULD
HAVE TO WRITE THAT BOOK ABOUT
THAT LITTLE GIRL AND WHAT
HAPPENED TO HER AND HOW SHE
COULD NOT TALK.
AND WHY SHE DID NOT TALK.
AND SHE JUST
KEPT CALLING OUR
ATTENTION TO THINGS.
I OFTEN THOUGHT OF
HER GIGANTIC
FIGURE AS LIKE THE LITTLE
FIREFLIES ARE USED TO CATCH IN
THE SUMMER TIME AND PUT IN JARS.
THEY JUST COME AT UNPREDICTABLE
TIMES AND MAKE YOU SEE SOMETHING
THAT YOU OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE
MISSED.
SOMETHING RIGHT BEFORE YOUR NOSE
--
SOMETHING IN YOUR MIND YOU HAVE
BEEN BURIED --
SOMETHING IN YOUR HEART YOU WERE
AFRAID TO FACE.
SHE CALLED OUR
ATTENTION IN
THOUSANDS OF WAYS TO HER BELIEFS
THAT LIFE IS A GIFT MANIFESTED
IN EACH NEW DAY.
SHE CALLED OUR ATTENTION TO THE
FACT THAT THE THINGS THAT REALLY
MATTER, DIGNITY,
WORK, LOVE, AND
KINDNESS ARE
THINGS WE CAN ALL
SHARE AND DON'T COST ANYTHING.
AND THEY MATTER MORE.
THAN THE DIFFERENCES OF WEALTH
AND POWER.
THE STRENGTH AND BEAUTY
OF
INTELLECT.
ALL THAT IS NICE IF YOU PUT IT
TO THE RIGHT USE.
BUT NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL
THAN DOING HONOR TO THE THINGS
WE SHARE.
SHE ALSO TAUGHT
US, THROUGH ALL
THOSE DECADES OF CHALLENGES,
THAT LIFE IS A CONSTANT CHOICE.
EVERY DAY YOU HAVE TO GET UP
MAKE A CHOICE.
WILL YOU CHOOSE LIGHT OR
DARKNESS?
WILL YOU CHOOSE TO REACH OUT OR
DRAW IN?
WILL YOU SPEAK OUT OR SHUT UP?
WILL YOU BE PARALYZED BY YOUR
PAST AND YOUR FAILURES OR WILL
YOU FORGIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TO
BE UNCHAINED.
?
HISTORY, DESPITE
ITS PAIN, NEED
NOT BE LIVED AGAIN.
THAT'S WHAT SHE TAUGHT ME.
AND MILLIONS OF OTHERS.
HERE'S WHY I THINK SHE DIED WHEN
SHE DID.
IT WAS HER VOICE
.
SHE WAS WITHOUT A VOICE FOR FIVE
YEARS AND THEN SHE DEVELOPED THE
GREATEST VOICE ON THE PLANET.
GOD LOANED OR HIS VOICE.
-- HER HIS VOICE.
SHE HAD THE VOICE OF GOD AND HE
DECIDED HE WANTED BACK FOR A
WHILE.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
SO, MY FRIEND, WE THANK YOU FOR
CALLING OUR ATTENTION TO THE
THINGS YOU PAID ATTENTION TO.
WE THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO
ORGANIZE OUR SCALE SO THAT WE
GIVE HEAVYWEIGHT TO THE MOST
IMPORTANT THINGS.
WE THANK YOU FOR REMINDING
US
THAT ON EACH NEW DAY WEEKEND
GIVE BIRTH AGAIN TO THE DREAM.
AND THAT EVERYDAY
WE SHOULD LOOK
INTO OUR SISTERS EYES AND THEIR
BROTHER'S FACE, TO ALL OUR
NATIONS, AND SAY GOOD MORNING.
AS LONG AS WE HAVE TIME, WE
SHOULD KEEP THE COURAGE TO BEGIN
AGAIN.
THAT'S WHAT YOU DID.
AND HOW BLESSED WE ARE BECAUSE
OF IT.
[APPLAUSE]