My heart is so heavy by this morning's news of Maya Angelou's passing.
Through the written translation of her life's immense struggles and equally amazing triumphs, she was an inspiration to us all.
Thank you for giving our history, Black history, such a commanding voice, recognition, and presence.
That was the reason I chose her words [below] for my high school senior quote. And those words took on a new, greater significance when I received my M.D.
Thank you for letting women everywhere know it is OK to celebrate our bodies, our curves, and to feel downright phenomenal just the way we are.
Thank you for showing us all, way before I could even appreciate its significance, that your past does not define you. That you can take what other's would see as a roadblock and use it to catapult yourself into your purpose.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Rest in heaven Dr. Angelou. You were genius personified.
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise.
I rise.
I rise.
