Maya Angelou will host a radio special where she will tackle the need to abolish Black History Month, says the Washington Post. The American activist hopes that there will come a time when this celebration will no longer be necessary to explain the contribution of the African-Americans.
The 83-year-old author declared in a recent interview that she wants the African-American culture to become part of the country’s history and be studied as such. Angelou thinks celebrating the Black History Month is a reminiscence of racism which shows that people don’t get enough information about the contribution of the African-Americans to the United States.
Maya Angelou is determined to use every method she has to disseminate the values and the traditions of the African American culture into the country. The most recent effort presupposes the hosting of an hour-long radio special throughout the month of February. The show will be broadcasted on about 200 public radio stations across the country. The civil rights era is the topic that will be discussed more often, but Angelou will also invite important African-American figures.
Mary J. Blige, Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, economist and Bennett College President Julianne Malveaux, and Professor Nikky Finney, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for poetry are some of Maya’s guests on the radio show. Thanks to them, the world will be able to see that African-Americans play important roles in the making of the U.S. history.
Angelou further stated that the U.S. nation has to persevere in order to become better than it is today. The greatest responsibility falls on the shoulders of the younger generations who don’t realize that they have to continue the work of their ancestors.
The work and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will also be discussed during the program. Angelou was the first to draw politicians’ attention when the King’s speech was truncated on the new memorial in Washington.
Maya was recently honored by Mrs. Michelle Obama with the BET Honors Literary Arts Award for the 30 books she published throughout her career. In addition, the author also received three Grammys for the spoken word.
