spite of her pregnancy – but by the burgeoning freedom struggle taking place.
While she and many other African-Americans who longed to break the back of racism and segregation could only imagine what the U.S. would look like once those barriers were demolished, Ghana inspired Angelou and other African-American expatriates by offering a real vision of how a country of black people, once liberated, could be successful.
That was important – especially since questions in the U.S. during the civil rights movement abounded about what exactly did black people want and whether they were ready for the changes that they were pushing for.
That’s why expatriates like her liked Ghana; in that country they were not burdened by questions of whether they were ready for freedom, or how they needed to be patient and wait for their oppressors to loosen their shackles.
And just as Ghana left its mark on Angelou, she left her mark on that country too; which honors her on its 350 cedi postage stamp.
In reading, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was published in 1970, one wonders whether Angelou’s experiences in that country, a place where a long-colonized people were beginning to spread their wings and fly, shaped that seminal poem.
But regardless of whether it did, Angelou’s connection to Africa as a writer and as an activist certainly informed her passions as a civil rights activist and added insight and context to her voice as a writer and poet.
A voice that will resonate throughout the ages.
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