Even though Maya Angelou died in 2014, she remains one of the most influential people in America’s history. A poet, a writer, and a civil rights activist, Maya showcased her passion throughout her life. Through novels, memoirs, speeches, essays, books of poetry, and even television and film, she displayed a poignant and touching understanding of the human experience.

This April 4 is Maya Angelou’s birthday, what would have been her 92nd. To celebrate this prolific creator’s life, here are our favorite quotes from Maya Angelou’s body of work. This trailblazer continues to teach and inspire us through her words.

Love

Maya Angelou was a champion for love. Throughout her life, she showed her belief in the idea that love can redeem the darkest parts of the soul. Her words, written and spoken, teach us that there isn’t anything more important.

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“I know for sure that loves saves me and that it is here to save us all.”
 

Endurance

Throughout all difficulties in her life, Maya Angelou persevered. She was mute for five years during her childhood after being raped at the age of seven, but she was able to find her voice again through her own inner strength. Despite trauma, racial bigotry, and sexism, Maya kept moving.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”

“You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise.” 

Success

Maya Angelou’s skills as an artist pushed her to success. She spoke six languages: French, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, and Fante. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was the first autobiography written by a black woman to become a best-seller in America. Angelou was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, three Grammys, and a Tony Award. In total, she received over fifty honorary degrees, including the Spingam Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Arts.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.”

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

“Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.”

Self-value & Individuality

Angelou never hesitated to be herself, and never apologized for being who she is. Throughout careers as an actress, nightclub dancer, sex worker, writer, and activist, she was open about her own personal experiences. She did not shy away from who she was.

 “If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”

“Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”

“If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”

Creativity

There were few forms of art in which Maya Angelou didn’t dabble. Her incredible career not only included poetry and books, but also plays, directing, producing, screenplays for film and television, acting, and public speaking. She centered her life around finding her passions and living creatively. Through her art, she showed the world who she was.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

“We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans—because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings. That’s why we paint, that’s why we dare to love someone—because we have the impulse to explain who we are.”

Equality

Maya Angelou fought for equality her entire life. She was a ferocious civil rights advocate, and she befriended many other American icons for equality as well, including Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, and Malcom X. In her youth, Angelou’s tenacity and refusal of the status quo led to her becoming the first black female streetcar conductor. Later in her life, she was the first black poet to present at a presidential inauguration when she read her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” for President Bill Clinton.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.”

“Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.”