LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas non-profit continues to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou.
The Celebrate! Maya Project is celebrating its 10th anniversary and its annual celebration of Dr. Maya Angelou's birthday this April.
The poet and civil rights activist would have turned 96 this year.
President and Founder of the non-profit, Janis F. Kearney explained how several women came together and decided they needed to remember Angelou in a significant way.
"We do not hold events on April 4, because one of her sad decisions was not to celebrate her birthday on April 4 after the assassination of Martin Luther King on that date," Kearney described. "So throughout the month of April, we will schedule events and celebrate her birthday."
Since 2016, they've recognized individuals who mirror Dr. Maya Angelou’s philosophy of reaching out and impacting lives.
The non-profit will continue this mission on April 11 with The Spirit of Maya Awards Luncheon and Celebration.
During the Spirit of Maya Awards, the Celebrate! Maya Project will honor Norel McAdoo with a posthumous award, as well as Jamee McAdoo, Rupa Dash, and Senator Linda Chesterfield.
“Of course, we know about her writing and her poetry, but [also] her humanitarianism, her work in civil rights, her work in social justice. She has a huge legacy, [in the] things that she's left behind. So we'd like to recognize each of those areas when we recognize individuals," Kearney said.
They also focus on youth development specifically in the Arkansas Delta and are currently working to restore a home in the Central High School Historic District, that will be the Maya Angelou house.
"It will house our work with children, workshops, tutoring, mentoring, gardening, and also a pavilion where we'll bring people in to have intergenerational conversations and programs," Kearney said. "So we want to be a part of the community and we want to impact our children in a more intentional way than we did before."
One of their proudest moments is partnering with the Mayor of Stamps, Arkansas to create a day of remembrance in Angelou's honor.
"I always say she became Maya Angelou in Arkansas. Stamps nurtured her, Stamps made her who she was because she came to Arkansas traumatized. It was her grandmother, it was her family, it was that village of Stamps that made her know that she was worthy," Kearney said. "It was Mrs. Beulah Flowers, who encouraged her to speak again after five years of being mute. So Stamps has a claim on her for sure, but so does Arkansas."
If you would like to keep up with Celebrate! Maya Project and its latest events, click here.
For tickets to The Spirit of Maya Awards Luncheon and Celebration and the movie screening of "And Still I Rise", please click here.