From her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her swinging soirees with Malcolm X in Ghana to her inaugural speech for. That same year, a documentary about Angelou was called And Still I Rise. Maya Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America’s most defining civil rights moments.

In 2017, Serena Williams issued a response that quoted some of Angelou's verses after a fellow tennis player made racist remarks about the child Williams was then expecting. A lot of Black of people and a lot of white people use it.'ĭecades after it was published, people continue to reference 'Still I Rise.' In 1994, the United Negro College Fund, aiming for a more hopeful tone in its appeals, created a spot that featured Angelou reading part of 'Still I Rise.' Also that year, Nelson Mandela, having read Angelou's work while in prison during apartheid, recited 'Still I Rise' when he was inaugurated as South Africa's president. A posthumous 1999 release from Tupac Shakur - who had cried in Angelou's arms when they were filming Poetic Justice together - was called Still I Rise, and among the tracks was a song with the same title. Once, when asked what work could offer succor in difficult times, Angelou referred to 'Still I Rise.' She noted it was 'a poem of mine that is very popular in the country. READ MORE: Maya Angelou and 9 Other Best-Selling Black Authors 'Still I Rise' continues to resonate with new generations 'All my work is meant to say, 'You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.' In fact, the encountering may be the very experience which creates the vitality and the power to endure.' The ability to cope with adversity is a strong theme throughout 'Still I Rise.' 'All my work, my life, everything is about survival,' she once stated. She uses a 'call and response' technique, references her sexuality and perhaps because she appreciated African American oral traditions, the power of the poem becomes even more evident when recited. 'Still I Rise' begins with, 'You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies, / You may trod me in the very dirt / But still, like dust, I'll rise.' Throughout the poem, the types of harrowing and unjust treatment that Black people in America are addressed alongside declarations of 'I rise.'Īngelou drew upon blues, gospel and spiritual songs as inspiration for the balladic patterns of the poem. Angelou wanted to write a poem about 'defeat' and 'survival'

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Maya angelou still i rise