Dr. Maya Angelou's 90th Birthday Garden Party in Winston-Salem

I'm a bit behind on posting this, here are some photos from the Garden Party and Poetry Jam held to honor Dr. Maya Angelou, on what would have been her 90th birthday.  The event was held at Bailey Park, a new little park in the middle of Winston-Salem's $100 million Innovation Quarter, the high tech incubator area built in and around the old Reynold's cigarette factory in downtown.  The event was put on by a group from Wake Forest University, a driving force behind the Innovation Quarter, and the college where Dr. Angelou taught for many years.  Dr. Angelou died in 2014, and lived here in Winston-Salem during the later years of her life.  Thanks to Rachel White for the photos.

Here's the Winston-Salem Journal online article about the event.  In the video, you can see my drawing on stage near the end when the poet is speaking.  My drawing and I got a mention in the written article.  Pretty cool stuff.

 The woman on the right is Rosa Johnson, Dr Angelou's only niece and her archivist.  I was introduced to her and she was given a small copy of the drawing of Maya Angelou that I drew and that was on stage during the poetry jam.  When I referred to "Maya" while talking to Ms. Johnson, she politely but firmly told me that her aunt preferred to be called "Dr. Angelou."  She said that because so many people could relate to Dr. Angelou's poetry, people who didn't actually know her would come up and say "Maya" and want to hug her.  So she asked those who didn't know her personally to call her Dr. Angelou.  I'm pretty sure Oprah could call her Maya.  Uh... I mean, Ms. Winfrey. 

 Here's a look at the 100 or so people at the event, taken from near the stage.

 The Wake Forest students wrote a few quotes and thoughts about Dr. Angelou with sidewalk chalk, and left the chalk out for the kids to draw with.  I decided to add my shortest poem to the mix on the sidewalk.  "Play:  It's one great play, go find your part, some day you'll realize the world is art."

Here I am on stage next to the drawing I did of Dr. Maya Angelou back in February.  The drawing sold at the Gallery Hop last Friday night, but hasn't been picked up by the new owner yet.  Rachel White, who had the drawing in her studio space, arranged for the drawing to be on stage, and found me at the last minute and talked me into going down to the event.  Glad I did.  The first poem read at the poetry jam was my poem "Become," read by Rachel.

Dr. Maya Angelou's 90th Birthday Poetry Jam

People my age and younger usually remember Dr. Maya Angelou as a distinguished older woman who was a great poet, writer, activist and many more things.  April 4th would have been Dr. Angelou's 90th birthday.  Rather than show a clip of the woman us younger generations remember, here's 29-year-old Maya singing.

Through a weird bit of synchronicity, I wound up hanging out at theMaya Angelou 90th Birthday Poetry Jam in Bailey Park here in Winston-Salem, the city where Dr. Angelou lived in the later years of her life.  I never met her, but I would have liked to.

Several years ago, when I first came to Winston-Salem to look for work in 2009, I stayed in a homeless shelter and wandered around every day trying to see who had jobs available.  On Sunday mornings, I took going to a McDonald's on the East side of town, near the Cleveland projects, in the hood.  They would play gospel music on over the PA, and I would use eat a sausage biscuit and hang out and either draw or read.

There was a church across the street from McDonald's.  I had no idea then, but those same Sundays I sat there in McDonald's, Dr. Angelou was across the street in that church.

I met her only niece today, who told us everyone always wanted to call her "Maya", but she insisted on "Dr. Angelou" to those who didn't actually know her.  It was a cool afternoon, literally, and a great time listening to the area's poets read their own words, as well as those of Dr. Angelou.  Happy 90th!

Big thanks to Rachel White (of Designs, Vines, and Wines at Studios at 625 on Trade Street) for finding me and talking me into heading over there to hang out.  Good time.  More on it tomorrow.