Maya Angelou entered the room yesterday singing, “I shall not be moved …” as cameras snapped, applause rang out and a crowd at the National Black Theatre Festival surrounded her.
The line is from her poem, “Our Grandmothers,” and it talks about the love, strength and determination of black women, from slavery to modern times.
Angelou, a nationally known poet, writer and performer, delivered the keynote speech at the festival’s International Colloquium in the ballroom of the Embassy Suites hotel. Her appearance was open to the public, and several hundred people turned out to hear her speak.
The colloquium, which will run through Friday, examines the theme “The Voice of Women in the Black Theatre.” Academics, playwrights, performers, critics and others will make presentations, participate in forums and take questions from the audience at special events each day.
Blacks must draw strength from their history, respect each other and make sure that they transmit black voices and culture to a younger generation, Angelou said.
Angelou told the audience to see themselves as part of a long line of survivors. She talked about a poem she wrote after watching a maid ride a bus in New York. She cited the poem, titled “When I Think About Myself.”
The poem tells the story of a woman who works for a child who refers to her as “girl” and who swallows her pride to earn a living. “My life has been one great big joke,” the woman in the poem says.
Angelou’s remarks were broken by frequent applause and laughter from the audience, as she mixed poems, song and stories.
Angelou underlined the importance of blacks respecting each other and not cheapening themselves with curses and racial epithets. Such behavior also lessens the art that black people can produce, she said.
“If you don’t know black gestures, black culture and you don’t value it,” she said, “you can’t reproduce it.”
Princess Gerald, who lives in Winston-Salem, said she liked what Angelou had to say and wishes that more young people would listen to her.
Gerald said she has done genealogy as a hobby and has been amazed with what she has found. More young people need to delve into the past and older people need to concentrate on passing down their legacies, she said.
“If you don’t get it from the elders,” she said, “you not going to get it.”
■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).