Maya Angelou read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" during the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1993.
So, Maya Angelou's literary offering can also be termed inaugural poetry. Historically, only three American presidents had poetry read at their inaugurations: they were presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and John F. Kennedy. For her reading of the inaugural poem, Maya Angelou won a Grammy for Best Spoken Non-Musical Album at the 1994 awards in New York.
Now, back to the poem. In the poem, Maya Angelou suggests that there should not be hyphenated Americans. She is determined that they should all be Americans. Her assertions in the poem mirror that of President Barack Obama years later, when he spoke during his 2008 victory speech.
In his speech, President Obama reiterated that Americans are no longer a "collection of individuals," nor are they a "collection of red states and blue states." Instead, they are all Americans.
In Maya Angelou's poem, she refers to the "Tree planted by the River, which shall not be moved." Many say this is the Tree of Life mentioned in the Bible, under which all of the races and nationalities will be reunited at the end of time.
In Maya Angelou's vision of America, the "Tree" of present-day America is the vision under which all Americans should unite. She tells us that African descendants arrived on a "nightmare" but prayed for a "dream." Maya also addresses Native Americans, Asians, and European immigrants. She maintains that all of them can unite under the same tree of unity.
Maya admits that the past cannot be un-lived. However, its ugliness need never be relived again. She exhorts all to remember that each new hour holds new opportunities for fresh beginnings.
All in all, Maya Angelou maintains that African Americans need no longer be known as hyphenated Americans. They are fully Americans in their own right.
https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/21/us/the-inauguration-maya-angelou-on-the-pulse-of-morning.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/what-maya-angelous-reading-at-bill-clintons-inauguration-in-1993-meant-to-her/454389/
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