AP Pholo
Maya Angelou speaks at the funeral of her friend, Coretta Scott King.
Angelou
from Page 12
More recently, Angelou was deeply
saddened by the death of King's widow,
Coretta Scott King, who passed away
Jan. 30, 2006, at age 78.
"So many of my very close and
beloved friends and relatives have gone
off to what Shakespeare called that,
'undiscovered country,'" Angelou said.
Angelou sat among four U.S. presi
dents - Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton,
George H.W. Bush and President
George W. Bush - as she waited her
turn to the speak to the 10,000 people
who gathered for Mrs. King's Atlanta
funeral. She described to the crowd the
special bond she shared with Mrs. King.
"Dr. Martin Luther King was assas
sinated on my birthday. And for over 30
years, Coretta Scott King and I have
telephoned or sent cards to each other,
or flowers to each other, or met each
other somewhere in the world,"
Angelou said at the service, "We called
ourselves ''chosen sisters' and when we
traveled to South Africa or to the
Caribbean, or when she came to visit
me in North Carolina or in New York,
we sat into the late evening hours, call
ing each other 'girl.' It's a black woman
thing, you know. And even as we
reached well into our 70th decade, we
still said 'girl.'"
Angelou attributes her own longevi
ty to God's good grace and the love she
receives and gives to others.
"I think you should work hard, and 1
think you should play hard and, be dar
ing and be courageous enough to love
someone and lots of people, and have
enough courage to accept love in
? return," Angelou said about her keys to
a long life.
Loving and her gift of the spoken
and written word have earned Angelou
the adoration of millions, including that
of many well-known people. She counts
talk-show.host Oprah Winfrey as one of
her closest friends. Earlier this month.
Winfrey threw a lavish three-day 80th
birthday celebration for Angelou in
posh Palm BeachoThe talk-show queen
hosted similar bashes on Angelou's
70th and 75th birthdays.
But Angelou says every gift she
receives - big or small, birthday or not
- is special.
"The handkerchief, which is given
to me, or the expensive purse ... they all
are about the same. It is the love that
counts." she said. "I have so much love,
and I am so grateful for it. But there is
an equal commitment, responsibility.
So to receive that much love, I must
give that much love or more, and 1 must
live a certain kind of life."
These days, much of her extraordi
nary life is lived right here in Winston
Salem. Work brought Angelou to the
Twin City in 1981. She was appointed
the very first Reynolds Professor of
American Studies at Wake Forest
University, a lifetime position. Her
classes are among the most sought after
at the school. Those lucky enough to get
a seat, are quickly memorized by
Angelou. who in one breath can quote
Paul Lawrence Dunbar (one of her
favorite poets), and talk-show host Art
Linkletter in the next.
She travels the world delivering
speeches on college campuses, reciting
poetry before world leaders and spend
ing weeks at her Harlem brownstone,
but when Angelou announces to friends
and loved ones that she is going home,
they know what she means.
"This is where I come to relax and
where I come to work, and whenever I
say I am coming home, I mean I am
coming to Winston-Salem," she said.
She takes pride in being an active
resident of the city. During her early
years (Tk Winston-Salem, she joined
local activists in calling attention to the
Darryl Hunt case. Hunt, a black man,
spent nearly 20 years in prison, after
being convicted of raping and killing a
white woman. DN A eventually won him
See Angelou on Page 18
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AP Pt**n 1
Maya Angelou , pictured here in the 1970s , holds her first hook.