Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now: Celebrating the Life of Maya Angelou

If I had to put a face to the word triumphant I would more likely than not see the face of Maya Angelou. I first "met" Maya when I was a teenager when I read her autobiography, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,' and experienced much like everyone who's read it an enlightenment in my spirit and elevated hope for humanity.

To celebrate Dr. Angelou on what would have been her 90th birthday, Google honored her with a tribute, 'Still I Rise,' Doodle, with a host of friends and celebrities who contributed to the reading of a colorful and beautifully animated montage.

An icon in the literary world, Maya also exhibited talent as a singer, dancer, actress, filmmaker, and writer. She was accomplished and never allowed the devastating misfortune of events in her life to detour her path to love, peace and respect for herself and others. Happy Birthday, Maya! Thank you for your legacy being one of this nation's greatest and beloved artists.

Here is an excerpt from her book, 'Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now.'

Extending The Boundaries

We arrived at my apartment, and I gave my attendant the sweetest, briefest smile I had in me and stepped inside and closed the door.
I entered into a long concentration which lasted until and even after I sobered myself.

At the end of my meditation I came to understand that I had been looking for love, but only under specific conditions. I was looking for a mate, but he had to a certain color, he had to have a certain intellect. I had standards. It was just likely that my standards eliminated a number of possibilities.

I had married a Greek in my green youth, and the marriage had ended poorly, so I had not consciously thought of accepting any more advances from outside my own race. The real reason, or I think another reason, for not including non-African Americans in my target area was that I knew that if it was difficult to sustain a love affair between people who had grown up next door and who looked alike and whose parents had attended church together, how much more so between people from different races who had so few things in common.

However, during that afternoon and evening I arrived at the conclusion that if a man came along who seemed to me to be honest and sincere, who wanted to make me laugh and succeeded in doing so, a man who had a lilting spirit–if such a man came along who had a respect for other human beings, then if he was Swedish, African, or a Japanese sumo wrestler, I would certainly give him my attention, and I would not struggle too hard if he caught me in a web of charm.

-Maya Angelou

Now that's real talk, right there.

Maya Angelou's 90th Birthday Honored By Google With Star-Studded 'Still I Rise' Doodle Tribute
Stars like Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Laverne Cox, America Ferrera and Martina McBride contributed to the Google Doodle reading, as well as Angelou's son Guy Johnson.