Maya Angelou’s gift to the SPLC
The SPLC’s president remembers Maya Angelou’s generosity when he requested her help for an anti-bias classroom documentary.
I once had the privilege of speaking with Maya Angelou, the great African-American poet and author who died today. It was to ask her a favor.
We were finishing a documentary film on anti-LGBT bullying and were looking for a song that would add power to the film’s message. Our producer suggested “I Rise,” a version of Ms. Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” that Ben Harper had put to music. Ben, who I had recently met, readily agreed to contribute his work.
I didn’t know how to reach Ms. Angelou, but Julian Bond, an SPLC board member, did, so we called her together. After Julian introduced me, I told Ms. Angelou about the film, including the fact that we were committed to giving it away to every school in the country to combat the plague of anti-LGBT bullying that was claiming so many lives, and asked, a little sheepishly, for her permission to use the song. I’ll never forget her words. “Mr. Cohen,” she said, “if you can’t be used, you're useless.”
We’ve already sent out over 100,000 free copies of the film, Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case that Made History, to schools across the nation. From the feedback we’ve received, it seems clear that the film is saving lives. So, on the day of her passing, we remember Maya Angelou and thank her for lending her great talent to our work.
