Editor’s Note: Content warning for mentions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault and needs support, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or their website.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, the University of Connecticut Women’s Center hosted a screening of the 2016 film “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise.” The film won the 2017 Peabody Award, according to the film’s website. All I knew about Maya Angelou prior to watching was that she wrote “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” and some poems such as the titular “And Still I Rise.”
The film began with a video collage of important people, like Rosa Parks and former President Barack Obama, and important events. An interviewee described Angelou as a dancer, actress, writer and performer with deep roots in American culture. The movie quickly reveals the scope of Angelou’s talent.
At the age of 7, Angelou’s mother’s boyfriend raped her. She told a trusted individual about the violation, and as a result, the rapist spent a day in jail. After he was freed, the rapist was murdered. This resulted in Angelou’s unwillingness to speak for 5 years due to the trauma and guilt of knowing her telling might have led to his death.
Angelou’s family had to accommodate for her mutism. A family member told her she could become a preacher or a teacher in the future, to which Angelou claimed she thought “this poor ignorant woman.” This was one of a handful of instances where the audience laughed at how deadpan Angelou’s delivery is. Those around her doubted her intelligence due to her inability to speak, but she read the likes of William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and Honoré de Balzac, as well as books only found in white schools.
The film then showcased a few presentations given by Angelou which related to her personal life experiences. In one of these presentations, Angelou started laughing and crying afterward, shedding real tears. In another presentation, a close-up photo portrait was revealed to the public with her on stage to see it. In a different presentation, she stated, “I would like everyone to be an African-American for at least a week” to see what it’s like and to forgive others for their racism and ignorance.
Continuing the chronology, Angelou opens up about having consensual sex for the first time and being disappointed in what transpired. “Is that all there is?” she remarked. She became pregnant and her mother convinced her to keep the baby.
Guy Johnson is the son of Maya Angelou. In the film he recalled being ashamed of his mother wearing African clothes when she picked him up from school. She wore African clothes due to the pride she has for her racial and cultural heritage, but Johnson thought his mother was crazy. Angelou also used to dance, and later sang calypso. She then got to go across the world playing the character Ruby for the “Porgy and Bess” opera by George Gershwin.
The film promotes the idea that Harlem, New York, where Angelou was residing at the time, was highly politicized in the 1950s and 60s. She met Langston Hughes and James Baldwin, went to a Martin Luther King Jr. speech and even protested in front of the United Nations in New York after Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba was murdered. Johnson recalled his mother saying “If you really have something to protest, you should be on the streets.” Angelou once stabbed a sergeant’s horse with a hairpin, causing the sergeant to fall and allowing the protesters to finish their route.
Later in her career, a publisher pushed Angelou to write an autobiography. At first, she denied the offer, but then the publisher challenged her and she wrote, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” inspiring the likes of the hip-hop artist Common, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton among many others. After this book, Angelou acted in the miniseries “Roots,” a show entirely made by Black people about the story of Kunta Kinte.
Later achievements in Angelou’s life, include her reciting “On the Pulse of Morning” for Clinton’s inauguration, skyrocketed her career even further. She kept her integrity despite this success, staunchly being against the use of any slur and hateful jokes. For example, Angelou kicked somebody out of a party for making a homophobic joke.
Despite the seemingly only serious subject material, Angelou tells her story how it is: a portrait of life. There are depressing moments, but there are also joyous and comedic moments. While her love life was tumultuous, her career is incredibly inspiring. As a woman of color, I aspire to be a prolific writer and perhaps a polymath of the arts. Maya Angelou is a brave role model and I’m glad I was able to learn more about her through this film. I wouldn’t have seen it if it weren’t for this screening.