STAMPS, Ark.-Maya Angelou's legacy as a writer and more will be celebrated Sunday in Stamps, one of the towns where she was raised.
The Celebrate! Maya Project has organized an event from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Stamps City Hall to show selections from the documentary film "Maya Angelou: Still I Rise," hold a discussion about the movie and celebrate Angelou's life through both reciting poetry and singing.
"I think it's a great opportunity to come out and learn more about her and her contributions," said Janis F. Kearney, founder of the Celebrate! Maya Project. And after all, Stamps holds a special place in Angelou's life, making it a fitting venue for the celebration.
"Of course, the most important part of it is we are going back to her home. That was her home for many years," Kearney said.
Billed as the first documentary feature about Angelou's life, "Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise" explores much of what the author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" accomplished in her life, including persevering through her tough childhood in the South, experience as a performer (both singer and actress) and later political work. The 2016 film was shown on PBS as part of its "American Masters" series and received a Sundance Film Festival premiere.
Kearney says attendees will discuss the movie, Angelou's contributions and her "blueprint for life" and how she sought to make life better for herself and others.
"Her humanity, her work in civil rights and all of that," Kearney said, noting they aim to hold a cross-generational discussion where the young can learn from older attendees and vice versa. "The rest of us need to hear from young people," she said.
Songs and poetry will be presented by people from neighboring cities like Texarkana, Lewisville, Magnolia and Bradley. The Stamps mayor will open the celebration and Kearney will discuss celebrating Angelou's life and the Still I Rise Delta Voices Initiative, the name for this event.
It's the second Still I Rise Delta Voices Initiative event they've held. This initiative is an outreach program to the Delta region. The first was held in McGehee, Ark. "We need to try to talk with the young people there," Kearney said about reaching youth with the inspiring message of Angelou's life.
Angelou believed in both herself and service to others, Kearney observes, and sought to help those, like women, who were oppressed.
In a statement about the event, she said, "While Dr. Angelou is recognized most for her role as a literary artist, she was also a lifelong advocate for civil and social humanity." They strive to present a holistic view of Angelou, "including her message that we all have responsibilities for helping to make the world better through service."
The Celebrate! Maya Project has also partnered with specific Arkansas schools as part of its commitment to promote Angelou and her legacy with a day of remembrance. Dumas was the most recent city selected. The organization's stated mission is to "help honor and promote the inclusive literacy, creativity and social consciousness of the life and work of artist and activist Dr. Maya Angelou."
Kearney said when people connect to Angelou's accomplishments, they get a sense of her many activities beyond poetry and literature, including her work for women and children. People are becoming proud of her as an Arkansan and someone who achieved fame worldwide, said the organization founder.
"She's definitely a world-renowned icon," Kearney said.
The Sunday program in Stamps is free to attend. Dr. Rhonda Mattox, former director of the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, will help facilitate discussion about the movie and Angelou's life.
The Still I Rise Delta Voices Initiative is funded in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Arkansas History Commission and Arkansas Department of Education.
(More info: CelebrateMayaProject.org.)