I think the affection for a frequent quote is a nice idea. I'd worry about it if it never was stated.
April 7, 2015
Today the U.S. Postal Service (click here) unveiled a new stamp honoring writer Maya
Angelou. The only problem? The quote featured on the stamp isn't hers.
The stamp has an image of Angelou, along with the quote: "A bird
doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." The quote actually comes from a 1967 book of poetry by author Joan Walsh Anglund called A Cup in the Sun.
Anglund's
original quote used "he" instead of "it" to refer to the bird. But for
what it's worth, Anglund isn't upset about the misattribution, telling
the Washington Post that she wasn't aware that the stamp was being made but that she hopes it's successful.
Earlier this morning First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey were
on hand in Washington to help unveil the stamp. The President even
misattributed the quote to Angelou in a 2013 speech — an error that
nobody seems to have caught at the time.
Perhaps the community can ask central figures to organize a group to lead as consultants of these moments that are so important. A group of historians, if you will. There isn't a central library to accumulate an accurate history of the community and the civil rights movement.
August 25, 2011
By Rachel Manteuffel
The memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. (click here) has been a little controversial — but not for the right reason. Someone, somewhere along the line, made a decision that makes King look like something he was not: an arrogant jerk.
“I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”
That’s what it says on the right side of King’s enormous monument. At first it struck me as odd that this man, whose many other quotes on the same monument are beautifully worded and biblically informed, would refer to himself as a drum major. To me, silly hats and King just did not compute....
Perhaps the community can ask central figures to organize a group to lead as consultants of these moments that are so important. A group of historians, if you will. There isn't a central library to accumulate an accurate history of the community and the civil rights movement.
August 25, 2011
By Rachel Manteuffel
The memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. (click here) has been a little controversial — but not for the right reason. Someone, somewhere along the line, made a decision that makes King look like something he was not: an arrogant jerk.
“I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”
That’s what it says on the right side of King’s enormous monument. At first it struck me as odd that this man, whose many other quotes on the same monument are beautifully worded and biblically informed, would refer to himself as a drum major. To me, silly hats and King just did not compute....
