The U.S. Postal Service honored poet, civil rights activist, and author Maya Angelou with a commemorative Forever Stamp on Tuesday at Warner Theater in Washington D.C. Angelou died last May at age 86.
The audience was not spared from the widespread power outage that plagued the District. In dramatic fashion, the lights cut out abruptly during Oprah Winfrey's tribute to the late poet.
After announcing plans to immortalize Angelou in February, the government agency unveiled the stamp in early March, showcasing artist Ross Rossin’s 2013 oil painting of Angelou from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
The stamp includes a quote by Angelou that says, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” The Washington Post reports that there's been some controversy about the origins and attribution of this quote, which appears in Joan Walsh Anglund's 1967 book, "A Cup of Suns."
IN-DEPTH
- US Postal Service Honors Maya Angelou With Forever Stamp
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