[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6601]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING MAYA ANGELOU ON HER 80TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 22, 2008

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the 80th birthday of Dr. Maya Angelou, one of the great voices of 
contemporary literature and a remarkable Renaissance woman.
  I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Angelou when I attended Yale 
University. She was a mentor to me then, not for her literary works, 
which were inspiring, but for her love for the least of us. She 
maintains a passion for all people regardless of race, gender, or 
class.
  Dr. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, and 
attended public schools in Arkansas and California. Dr. Angelou is 
truly a woman of great vision, grace, and intellect. She speaks French, 
Spanish, Italian, Arabic, West African Fanti, and English.
  In addition to written and spoken word, for which she is most known, 
she has other accomplishments that have not received as much attention. 
She taught modern dance at the Rome Opera House and the Hambina Theatre 
in Tel Aviv. She was has been a civil and human rights activist for 
many years, and in fact was the northern coordinator for the Southern 
Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC, in 1959, appointed at the 
request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


                      Honorary Degrees and Awards

  Maya Angelou has been honored by several universities, Howard 
University to Spellman College, from Columbia University to the 
University of Southern California giving her over 30 honorary degrees.
  She has received Tony Awards, Grammy Awards, Woman of the Year 
Awards, a Congressional Tribute by Former Congressman Kweisi Mfume, and 
even a Presidential Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton.


                    Books, Poems, and Short Stories

  Maya Angelou is known for her stirring poems and storytelling 
abilities. ``On the Pulse of the Morning'' and ``Phenomenal Women'' 
were two of the poems that helped her become only the second poet in 
U.S. history to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at 
the Presidential inauguration.
  Dr. Angelou has authored 12 bestselling books including ``I Know Why 
the Caged Bird Sings,'' ``A Song Flung Up to Heaven,'' and ``Even the 
Stars Look Lonesome.'' She has the unique ability to shatter the opaque 
prisms of race, class, and gender between the reader and the subject. 
She captivates her audience, be they children in Tel Aviv, Civil Rights 
Leaders, or even Presidents.


                               Conclusion

  I would have had us sing to Maya Angelou on her 80th birthday, but I 
would rather say thank you. Thank you, Dr. Angelou, for your dedication 
to civil and human rights, thank you for your activism, your perceptive 
stories and poems, thank you for your wisdom, and thank you for 
reminding us how powerful language can be. For Maya Angelou has moved 
hearts and minds with her lyric and prose.
  I thank Maya Angelou for being a Phenomenal Woman, for now we 
understand ``Just why [your] head is not bowed. Why you don't shout or 
jump about, or have to talk real loud. Why when we see you pass by, we 
are so proud, Some say, It's in the click of your heels, the bend of 
your hair, the palm of your hand, the need of your care, But its 
because you are a woman, Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman . . . that, Dr. 
Angelou, is you.
  Happy 80th Birthday, Maya Angelou.

                            Phenomenal Woman

                           (By Maya Angelou)

     Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
     I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
     But when I start to tell them,
     They think I'm telling lies.
     I say,
     It's in the reach of my arms
     The span of my hips,
     The stride of my step,
     The curl of my lips.
     I'm a woman
     Phenomenally.
     Phenomenal woman,
     That's me.

     I walk into a room
     Just as cool as you please,
     And to a man,
     The fellows stand or
     Fall down on their knees.
     Then they swarm around me,
     A hive of honey bees.
     I say,
     It's the fire in my eyes,
     And the flash of my teeth,
     The swing in my waist,
     And the joy in my feet.
     I'm a woman
     Phenomenally.
     Phenomenal woman,
     That's me.

     Men themselves have wondered
     What they see in me.
     They try so much
     But they can't touch
     My inner mystery.
     When I try to show them
     They say they still can't see.
     I say,
     It's in the arch of my back,
     The sun of my smile,
     The ride of my breasts,
     The grace of my style.
     I'm a woman

     Phenomenally.
     Phenomenal woman,
     That's me.

     Now you understand
     Just why my head's not bowed.
     I don't shout or jump about
     Or have to talk real loud.
     When you see me passing
     It ought to make you proud.
     I say,
     It's in the click of my heels,
     The bend of my hair,
     The palm of my hand,
     The need of my care,
     'Cause I'm a woman
     Phenomenally.
     Phenomenal woman,
     That's me.

                          ____________________