Humanities Symposium Write Up

Like most Belmont students I too attended the Maya Angelou talk, but also had the opportunity to attend the wrap-up panel and the Dave Chappelle/ Maya Angelou convocation. It was interesting to see her in these various settings. One thing I found about her personality is her willingness and ease of talking about painful experiences. Often when talking about painful experience there is a sense of anger and sadness behind the words. In the case of Dr. Angelou I was surprised by her calm attitude toward many of these subjects. While she expressed her opinion she did so in a respectful way. Rather than wanting revenge for her past grievances she wanted her audiences to learn from the mistakes. She has an attitude that we must progress as a society, together. Not necessarily as one race, or one gender, but as a people as a whole. She emphasised forgiveness and love each time I heard her speak. I admire Dr. Angelou and think she is an exceptional person. I hope to have the opportunity to see her speak live again in the future.