I was in the car with my mom at a park near her house and we were having a very compelling conversation. I had just written Maya Angelou's letter ,a part of my 30 day series 30 Days in Conversation with 30 Black Activists and Storytellers, and I had learned something very interesting that day. The concept that you must fulfill your legend because you have someone else's intertwined and dependent on you fulfilling yours. My mom whose personal hero and inspiration is Maya Angelou, was telling me about her poetry book and how she was going to get it published. She has been in this stalemate of having motivation to work on it and then her doubts kicking in. I told her, "Mom, imagine if Maya Angelou never got her poetry published? If she never went out and pursued her dreams." She looked at me, "She would have never fulfilled her personal legend. After her came one of the world's most extraordinary women. (Pause) Maya's work has so greatly inspired Oprah, one of the world's most powerful women! You need to finish your book!" . "You're right, I am finishing my book!" She had exclaimed.
It was such an eye opener. That this whole dream we have in our minds goes beyond benefiting us personally. It is a part of a much larger scheme. Without Spike Lee there would be no Denzel Washington as we know him, and without Denzel there would be no Chadwick Boseman. Every life is important in this chain of life work and inspiration. Passing on the torch is the best reward that there is! It is the ultimate goal.
What has inspired me most with you Miss Oprah is the level of depth there is with your perception of life. You have taught me to see life as this big journey to uncovering our personal greatness! From you I have learned the power we hold in manifesting, in believing in ourselves and in self actualization. You can come from anywhere, be who you are and achieve everything that you hold in your mind. I came from being one of the only black girls living in Mindanao, Philippines ( a country I had been wrongfully brought to) having to undergo a whole series of unfortunate events that ultimately aligned me with my life purpose, and to state again, personal legend. I made it to Canada, and from there I made it to New York to attend NYU, one of the best schools for acting! When God has a plan for you, he has a plan for you! When YOU have a plan for YOU, YOU have a plan for YOU.
You came from rural Mississippi, having elders tell you that you would too would follow their paths and if you are lucky, "find you some good white folks" to work for, and you just knew that would not be the life that you were going to lead. That is amazing to me. Going from Baltimore to Chicago for television to follow your vision seemed so unreasonable to those around you but you went because you saw the impact that you could have. You wanted to act but never held a role before but you knew you wanted to be in The Color Purple and you manifested that for yourself. All of your feats have helped to grow this legacy that you have created. You have really showed us as black women what can be done! Particularly, what can be done when you do not know how in the world it will be done, and when you do not have the resources for what can be done. It is believing that materializes our wonders. It is being that accelerates that. You told every naysayer that you were going to do what you were going to do and you made the moves that you needed to in order to secure that vision.
In light of the race war happening right now, it comes with believing in ourselves and becoming the most that we can that changes the possibilities for others. Imagine just how many black women you have inspired to take the reins in their lives and beat the odds! Despite being an oppressed people and having seen no one else do what we want to do, or despite the discrimination we may face, we must persevere in making our visions a reality! We change the world by CHANGING THE WORLD!
As you say (one of my favorite philosophies) "We Become What We Believe".
Sincerely,
Kayla Mary Jane
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