Maya Angelou chose life
UPDATE 7:45p: An abortion proponent on Twitter sent me a link to a 2008 Daily News story, wherein Angelou said she supported abortion. So between 1994 and then she tragically “evolved,” as President Obama would say. Angelou chose life and reaped many blessings from it, but she ultimately did not wish the same blessings on other mothers and babies.
9:32a: Yesterday, when news broke that author and poet Maya Angelou had passed away at age 86, liberal feminists began pouring in tributes (also see example above and below).
Baring my ignorance here, I only knew of Angelou as having been selected to deliver a poem at Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration (right). That’s all I thought I needed to know about her.
But reading a tribute to Angelou by Red State’s Erick Erickson this morning led me to the revelation that Maya Angelou courageously chose life after discovering she was pregnant at the age of 16:
I was scared to pieces. Back then, if you had money, there were some girls who got abortions, but I couldn’t deal with that idea. Oh, no. No. I knew there was somebody inside me. So I decided to keep the baby.
Angelou went on to raise her little boy (pictured together, below right), even though times were tough:
I’m telling you that the best decision I ever made was keeping that baby! Yes, absolutely. Guy was a delight from the start - so good, so bright, and I can’t imagine my life without him.
At 17 I got a job as a cook and later as a nightclub waitress. I found a room with cooking privileges, because I was a woman with a baby and needed my own place. My mother, who had a 14-room house, looked at me as if I was crazy! She said, “Remember this: You can always come home.” She kept that door open. And every time life kicked me in the belly, I would go home for a few weeks.
I struggled, sure. We lived hand-to-mouth, but it was really heart-to-hand. Guy had love and laughter and a lot of good reading and poetry as a child. Having my son brought out the best in me and enlarged my life. Whatever he missed, he himself is a great father today. He was once asked what it was like growing up in Maya Angelou’s shadow, and he said, “I always thought I was in her light.”
Years later, when I was married, I wanted to have more children, but I couldn’t conceive. Isn’t it wonderful that I had a child at 16? Praise God!”
Now, I admire Angelou. Whatever her politics were, she chose life, then beautifully put into writing the blessings of her choice.
I also have quickly grown to admire Angelou’s mother, from whom there are lessons to be learned on how to gracefully embrace a situation in which many of we parents find ourselves.
Angelou’s pregnancy, subsequent life struggles, and son certainly enriched her mind, heart, soul, and creative expression, perhaps this?
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Or this?
Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.
Learning about Angelou’s history today has humbled me, serving as a reminder not to prejudge anyone, which is easy to do in the world in which pro-life activists function.
National Review has posted an anti-abortion statement Angelou signed on to in the 1990s.
[Inauguration photo via WhiteHouse.gov; mother and son photo via Huffington Post]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Pro-borts would put Mother Teresa and a quote on a poster, if they thought they could hijack her image.
Shameless.
And good for Maya for choosing life, and the years of joy that she shared with her son.
Ms. Stanek – I’m afraid your connection to the “pulse” of pro-life has failed you this time. Maya Angelou was a lot of things, and many were good, but she was most certainly not pro-life. Choosing not to have an abortion doesn’t in and of itself make you “pro-life”. Her support of the very anti-life Planned Parenthood was extensive. In 2010, she was the keynote speaker at a Texas Planned Parenthood fundraising event. That event raised $300,000.00. That figure represents the cost of aborting approximately 665 babies. If that represents pro-life, we may need to re-evaluate our standards.
I disagree, she supported Clinton, Hilary and “Obama”…..the Biggest PRO-MURDER President in History, this doesn’t make Maya Angelou Anti-Abortion, BUT PRO–DEATH, whether she kept her baby or not, it seems she doesn’t care if other women take the life of their baby?????
All I can say is that on the specific topic of abortion, Angelou was pro-life and signed a statement circulated far and wide saying she opposed abortion.
I can’t defend her actions supporting PP and Democrat pro-abortion politicians except to say many in the black community are deluded about both.
I wasn’t aware Angelou was pro-life.
Angelou is not only a prime example of why it’s dangerous to stereotype anyone (something which is so easily done by Left and Right) because of her priorities and viewpoints, but also an example of someone whose inconsistencies and judgements were all too human.
Saying you are pro-life but then supporting myriad facets of the pro abortion machine, is like saying you are against killing someone, but you will hire a hit man to do it.
I know many many people who say they would NEVER abort their child, but are pro abortion. I don’t think we should get over zealous to co-opt a feminist icon just because she made the decision not to terminate her pregnancy like many other pro aborts. What her statement does reveal is what we always have known – even women who support abortion rights know that when they are pregnant there is a distinct and individual person growing inside of them.
What a great, inspiring, hopeful story for young moms everywhere. People are complicated and whatever their politics, this is a good story worth sharing.
I honestly do not understand your comment, “on the specific topic of abortion, Angelou was pro-life.” As others have said, just because she chose not to have an abortion and thought that was the right “choice” for herself, does not make her “pro-life.” I know many, many pro-choice people who have children. I would also say she was not “deluded” at all about the Democratic Party or PP. She was one of the most intelligent people in recent history. Do you honestly think she wasn’t fully aware of what her support meant? Yes, she was humble, but do you honestly think she didn’t know the impact of her words, particularly on the black community? I think we need to be very careful about ignoring the big picture of who Maya Angelou was. The same way it was important to remember who Nelson Mandela was. While these individuals have many, many good qualities, let’s face it, they were sinners, like the rest of us. And they will have to answer for their very public sin of supporting abortion, the slaughter of millions, the majority of whom were black, something that they could have actually changed for the better! Just imagine if Maya Angelou had come out strongly against abortion and had been as vocal about that as she was in her support of very pro-abortion politicians! We might live in a very different country. Sadly, she chose a different path.
The irony of it all …. http://plannedparenthood.tumblr.com/post/87102395902/rest-in-peace-dr-maya-angelou-via-ppaction
Why on earth would you give her word’s (or in this case, signature) more validity than her actions? Her position was that she would not have an abortion, but not only should others have the choice to terminate the life of their child, but she fundraised to make certain they had the resources to do just that. And she was most certainly not deluded. She was BRILLIANT! She represents the very definition of PRO-CHOICE. Representing her as pro-life is really disingenuous at this point.
You need to read the STATEMENT she signed opposing abortion. She wasn’t just personally pro-life: http://tinyurl.com/lugwp6g
“We, the undersigned, are committed to the protection of life, which is threatened in today’s world by war, abortion, poverty, racism, the arms race, the death penalty and euthanasia.
“We believe these issues are linked under a consistent ethic of life.
“We challenge those working on all or some of these issues to maintain a cooperative spirit of peace, reconciliation, and respect in protecting the unprotected.”
It appears that the statement she signed was from 1994…
So I have to wonder what, after all she had been through, would cause her to support Planned Parenthood 16 years after this statement?
I wonder the same thing about people like Jesse Jackson, who was so adamantly pro-life (apparently) at one point in time. Although in his case, I think we can just follow the money.
Perhaps somehow, someway, she did not clearly read or know what she signed?
It seems so terribly incongruent to have chosen life herself as a teen mother, then to sign such a statement opposing abortion and defending a consistent life ethic, and then to turn around and do a fundraiser for PP and support the Democratic party as she did. Something doesn’t add up…
I do pray she rests in peace, and I pray that her legacy to the world is one of encouragement, courage, hope, and triumph.
I don’t know about you, but I held a number of beliefs in 1994 ( and could have probably been persuaded to sign a document about them), which I no longer agree with. Twenty years is a long time. I absolutely do not believe Ms. Angelou died a pro-life advocate.
An abortion supporter on twitter sent this link from 2008 to a story wherein Angelou said she supported abortion, so in between 1994 and then she tragically “evolved,” as President Obama would say: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/st-john-misses-maya-angelou-speaker-article-1.329036. :(
Will add this to the post.
I don’t know anything more about Angelou’s position on abortion than I am reading here and in her statement, but her support of Planned Parenthood, while disappointing, isn’t incredible. Abby Johnson recalled that she was pro-life and from a pro-life family when she went to work for PP. She justified it because after all, they were for birth-control, which prevents abortions; so she felt she was actually helping prevent abortion and saving women’s lives. Now this belief won’t stand much logical scrutiny, but people frequently do these things to reconcile what they are doing with the truth. Angelou might have thought the same way.
On the basis of the evidence, I’d call her pro-life, even if she never saw the racist intent behind PP or even understand their operations that well (they keep claiming after all, that they are not an abortion organization, it’s only 3% of their business, etc).
Interesting that in that 1994 statement, Angelou was joined by the Dalai Lama, Nat Hentoff, Martin Sheen, Sargent Shriver and the Berrigan brothers, a lot of “leftist” people or darlings of the left. In the 1990’s you could still find people who might be anti-war as well as anti-abortion, Democrat and pro-life. Not much chance of that with today’s political polarization. And it’s very much to our harm that this is so.
In other words, don’t jump to conclusions about pro-lifers. Leave that to the pro-abort trolls.
P.S. If you don’t know anything about Maya Angelou, read your autobiographical story of her youth, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It’s a terrific book.
Jill, your post much have appeared while I was editing mine. So sad to hear that her understanding went so wrong.
wherein Angelou said she supported abortion.
What she actually said was, “I believe that’s between the woman and her Maker.” Obviously she was not pro-life as this blog defines the term, because she didn’t denounce Moloch and pontificate sanctimoniously on the subject of sinners in the hands of an angry God. But that quotation does not by any measure translate as “I support abortion.”
And she was most certainly not deluded. She was BRILLIANT!
Haven’t you heard? It’s axiomatic in the pro-life community that one white woman is smarter than an entire generation of black intellectuals. So “She was brilliant” isn’t going to go very far here.
Well, she certainly was not an advocate for the pro-life movement.
And it is disappointing that she fundraiser for PP and also for pro-death candidates. However, as LiasC said, if she said that abortion was between a woman and her maker, it could be that she was personally pro-life but politically liberal and was deluded by PP, as so many well-meaning people are.
Despite the illusion many of us maintain, we don’t know everything there is to know about “celebs.” Only God knows a person’s heart.
The fact does remain, though, that she has left behind beautiful words of encouragement and inspiring words about the choice to not abort her son. That fact remains. And whether or not she sided with the pro-death crowd in the end, those who read her biographies and her words on why she chose not to abort her son, shows that the truth is there in her heart, that she knows, and hopefully those words will speak through the ages and encourage others to have the courage to choose life.
Again Lisa C. despite the religious under tones in many of the commentators posts, there are many of us on this blog who also take an anti-abortion viewpoint from a non-religious point of view & are very much a part of the pro-life movement, whether or not we fit the definition of “pro-life” here (which seems a rather petty point don’t you think). Also, I’d like to know where you drew your assertion from & to provide proof from a mainstream pro-life source supporting your facticious statement ” Haven’t you heard? It’s axiomatic in the pro-life community that one white woman is smarter than an entire generation of black intellectuals” because it seems you like to pick & choose specific examples of one individual or extremist groups conduct & use it to stereotype & demonize those holding differing political viewpoints.
What does race have to do with this at all?
Ladybug, below are some salient quotations from “Concerned Women for America’s” widely-cited and referenced “article” on “The Negro Project.” (http://www.cwfa.org/the-negro-project-margaret-sangers-eugenic-plan-for-black-americans/ Author: Tanya L. Green). Emphasis added.
Under the pretense of better health and family planning, Sanger cleverly implemented her plan. What’s more shocking is Sanger’s beguilement of black America’s crème de la crème – those prominent, well educated and well-to-do – into executing her scheme
Sanger charmed the black community’s most distinguished leaders into accepting her plan, which was designed to their own detriment
Sanger shrewdly used the influence of prominent blacks to reach the masses with this message.
Sanger even managed to lure the prominent but hesitant black minister J. T. Braun, editor in chief of the National Baptist Convention’s Sunday School Publishing Board in Nashville, Tennessee, into her deceptive web.
and the classic:
By 1949, Sanger had hoodwinked black America’s best and brightest into believing birth control’s life-saving benefits. In a monumental feat, she bewitched virtually an entire network of black social, professional and academic organizations into endorsing Planned Parenthood’s eugenic program.
Do you see the theme, Ladybug? The greatest minds of an entire generation of African Americans can be fooled by a single white woman.
The author of this piece then claims she is not asserting that “blacks were gullible.” Rather, she says, Sanger used their vulnerabilities and their ignorance (of her deliberately hidden agenda) to her advantage. Aside from birth control, she offered no other medical or social solutions to their adversity. Surely, blacks would not have been such willing accomplices had they perceived her true intentions.
Translation: black people (or at least, the “best and brightest” of black people) just aren’t smart enough to figure out what they need or understand what they’re being offered.
What does race have to do with this at all?
That would be a question for the person who introduced race into the conversation by asserting that “many in the black community are deluded” by PP.
Ok so you gave me a single example (is that all you could find?) & once again you’re stereotyping the words of one organization to pain the entire pro-life movement w/ a broad brush. Once again, one organization does not represent all the individuals in the pro-life movement.
Sure I don’t like patronistic implications, whether it’s coming from pro-lifers or pro-choicers, however I think you are reading into something that wasn’t intended (sure they could of worded their essay better) because you’re coming at it with a biased perspective when you’re intentially digging to find something you can use to demonize pro-lifers.
“Translation: black people (or at least, the “best and brightest” of black people) just aren’t smart enough to figure out what they need or understand what they’re being offered.”
No, Translation: Evil sociopaths are very good at what they do and none of us are immune to their influences.
Example: When I finally escaped an abusive relationship and got into counseling for battered women, I kept saying things like, “I can’t believe I was so stupid to fall for that, stay so long, make excuses, etc., etc.” The kind counselor would say things like, “Not stupid, naive and trusting. You see the world the way you are, not the way he is.”
Was Hitler smarter than those he killed? Sure,some of them. But he was more evil than all of them.
Is it sexist to say, “Many battered women are deluded?” As a formerly battered woman, I would agree 100% that I was deluded and duped and disagree that the statement is sexist.
Is your IQ higher than some prolifers, LisaC? You bet. But your compassion is sorely lacking. At the end of the game, both the king and the pawn end up in the same box.
Lisa C.
What Jill Stanek said was:
“I can’t defend her actions supporting PP and Democrat pro-abortion politicians except to say many in the black community are deluded about both.”
as in many people are being misled by both the democratic party & PP. I don’t believe the use of the term “deluded” in this context was implying one group is inferior to another, but rather it’s like saying many individuals are being misled by a biased political agenda from such & such group (applied to any political group). Also that was a single comment you took out a thread by & largely discussing Maya Angelou’s political affiliation (not race) & praising her.
Once again, I think you were looking for something that wasn’t there.
More smart people being hoodwinked here:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2013/10/47-mil-to-get-more-adolescents-on-gardasil/
Ok so you gave me a single example (is that all you could find?)
That’s all that I could link without the post getting caught in the spam filter. As I said, the story is widely circulated. It’s peddled on every pro-life site with an online media presence. They may not be “mainstream,” but in case you haven’t noticed, in the pro-life movement the inmates are running the asylum.
‘Inmates’ are in prison and ‘asylum’ is an offensive term, LisaC.
But I guess we already realize that you are lacking in the compassion department.
Praxades, it’s a colloquialism.
Lisa, it’s murder.
Lisa, it’s murder.
Maya Angelou’s death? Do the police know? Or do you mean the racism displayed by many prolifers?