![]() Then I phoned her – I traced her at her hotel and I spoke to her. And after reciting that poem, you remember, Clinton embraced her, kissed her. But I didn't meet her – she was far away from me, she was right up at the podium. She was there, you see, because she read the poem. MANDELA: No, man, but I phoned, I spoke to her. STENGEL: Did you see her when you were in Washington ? Transcript about Dr Maya Angelou and Nelson Mandela's first meeting her in Cairo in 1962, when he was on his clandestine trip through Africa and to London. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs in December 2013. We will not forget you, we will not dishonor you, we will remember and be glad that you lived among us, that you taught us, and that you loved us all. Thank you our Gideon, thank you our David, our great courageous man. Nelson Mandela’s day is done, we confess it in tearful voices, yet we lift our own to say thank you. We will not withhold forgiveness even from those who do not ask. ![]() Yes, Mandela’s day is done, yet we, his inheritors, will open the gates wider for reconciliation, and we will respond generously to the cries of Blacks and Whites, Asians, Hispanics, the poor who live piteously on the floor of our planet. No sun outlasts its sunset, but it will rise again and bring the dawn. We saw him accept the world’s award in Norway with the grace and gratitude of the Solon in Ancient Roman Courts, and the confidence of African Chiefs from ancient royal stools. When Nelson Mandela took the seat of Presidency in his country where formerly he was not even allowed to vote we were enlarged by tears of pride, as we saw Nelson Mandela’s former prison guards invited, courteously, by him to watch from the front rows his inauguration. He had not been crippled by brutes, nor was his passion for the rights of human beings diminished by twenty-seven years of imprisonment.Įven here in America, we felt the cool, refreshing breeze of freedom. ![]() His stupendous heart intact, his gargantuan will hale and hearty. In the Alamo, in San Antonio, Texas, on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, in Chicago’s Loop, in New Orleans Mardi Gras, in New York City’s Times Square, we watched as the hope of Africa sprang through the prison’s doors. His answer strengthened men and women around the world. Would the man survive? Could the man survive? Your man of strength, Gideon, emerging triumphant.Īlthough born into the brutal embrace of Apartheid, scarred by the savage atmosphere of racism, unjustly imprisoned in the bloody maws of South African dungeons. We send our souls to you as you reflect upon your David armed with a mere stone, facing down the mighty Goliath. We think of you and your son of Africa, your father, your one more wonder of the world. Our spirits reach out to you Bantu, Zulu, Xhosa, Boer. We see you, South African people standing speechless at the slamming of that final door through which no traveler returns. The news, expected and still unwelcome, reached us in the United States, and suddenly our world became somber. ![]() The news came on the wings of a wind, reluctant to carry its burden. Remember that story in the Times about the new Hollywood phenomenon of hiring poets to write poems in movies? Yeah, John Singleton did that first.This is Maya Angelou's poem for Madiba and some material from him about first meeting her in Cairo in 1962, when he was on his clandestine trip through Africa and to London. (Also, Justice has a cat named White Boy, which is wonderful.) But you should still all watch Leonardo DiCaprio as Rimbaud in Total Eclipse.) Poetic Justice, though, is a rare example of a movie that foregrounded poetry. Actually no, those are also usually quite bad. Poetry in pop culture usually fits into one of two categories: original, embarrassing Dylan Thomas, earnestly apocalyptic. Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, and Regina King are among the movie’s leads, but I would argue that its breakout star is Maya Angelou(!!), who plays Aunt June in the movie and who also wrote all the poetry attributed to Justice, Jackson’s character. He’s best remembered for his Academy Award-nominated debut Boyz n the Hood, but it’s his second movie, Poetic Justice, that might have the most crossover appeal for readers of this site. Director John Singleton died Monday at 51.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |