Of all the needs (there are none imaginary) a lonely child has, the one that must be satisfied, if there is going to be hope and a hope of wholeness, is the unshaken need for an unshakable God. |
One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. |
One must know not just how to accept a gift, but with what grace to share it. |
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends. |
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible. |
See, you don't have to think about doing the right thing if you're for the right thing then you'll do it without thinking. |
See, you don’t have to think about doing the right thing if you are for the right thing then you’ll do it without thinking. |
Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable. |
She cherished her race. She cherished women. She cared for gay and straight people. She prayed nightly for Palestine and equally for Israel. |
She was a sister-friend to me, we called each other 'children sisters.' She was a great wife, obviously, and a wonderful mother and a great woman, a great American. When I think of great Americans she's one of the people I think of. |
She's my sister friend and I pray for her and her children. Everybody, please give a good thought, a positive thought for Coretta. |
Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence--neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish--it is an imponderably valuable gift. |
Some critics will write |
Some critics will write 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon. |
Some of us are timid. We think we have something to lose so we don't try for that next hill. |