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Andrea Garcia-Vargas

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On May 28, 2014, Maya Angelou passed away. But she still lives on.

"You beloved guardian of sacred poetry, rest now. Leave us to study and remember."

On May 28, 2014, Dr. Maya Angelou died at the age of 86.


Image via York College of Pennsylvania/Flickr.

She was a lot of things in her life: a poet, an artist, a writer, a dancer, a teacher. But she will always be known by countless people around the world for her wise, healing words.

Words she wrote:

"You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.





...You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise."


— Still I Rise

Words she spoke:

via Penguin USA/Soundcloud

Even words she tweeted:

Dr. Maya was, at her core, a poet.

And while she meant a lot of things to many famous people — from former presidents and world leaders to the one and only Oprah perhaps — one of the greatest legacies she left behind is the inspiration she gave to the poets who came after her.

Around the time of her death, the words of those very famous people filled the airwaves.

But this performance by poet Natalie Patterson via SoulPancake is one of the most powerful tributes I've seen. Take a look:

It's amazing how Maya Angelou has inspired so many people in so many different ways.

As we remember Maya Angelou today, we'll leave you with these words from Natalie's poem:

"One day soon, I know, out of habit, You will scribble a poem across the sky for us. We will know it was you. It has always been you, Doctor, Maya Angelou."

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Every week, she sings in a prison. And the crowd of women go wild.

Her music is healing.

Live-recording your first music album in a prison might seem like an unusual decision.

Not for singer Naima Shalhoub.

All images via AJ+.

Every week, Naima comes to the San Francisco County Women's Jail to hold "music sessions." For one hour, she sings her heart out to the incarcerated women.

Strong, empowered, talented, compassionate — these are all things you can tell about Naima when she goes up to perform in front of the county jail.

Watching her sing and play the guitar is quite the thrill.

But what's more thrilling for her? Hearing the reactions from the incarcerated women she's with. In an interview with AJ+'s Dena Takruri, Naima recounted some of the beautiful feedback the women have given her:

"Thank you for being my hour of freedom every week.'"

"My peace and freedom.'"

"I came into class not feeling great, feeling discouraged, and now I'm a lot better. And I feel I can get through my day. And somehow, even with the struggles and me missing my kids, I feel like there's hope."



There are three main things Naima hopes all people can take away from her album:

  1. The ability to critically think and ask themselves, are our systems restorative and transformative? Do they really allow for rehabilitation?
  2. The power of music in the act of healing and restoration.
  3. For people to feel heard and for the message to resonate.

Without further ado, give her a listen. Her singing is beautiful, and so is her heart.

If you're inspired by her and her music, feel free to spread her message and energy around.

Also, stay tuned to her upcoming album, "Borderlands," which will be released in summer 2015. Bonus! 50% of proceeds from it will go to re-entry programs for incarcerated women.

Want to learn more about restorative justice? Here are just a couple of resources to get you started.

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Thousands of teens are being punished — by being locked in a box.

A room 10 feet by 7 feet. No human contact for months. How does this do teenagers any good?

In March 2014, Reveal, one of the websites of the Center for Investigative Reporting, did some investigating into the treatment of teenagers imprisoned on New York City's Rikers Island.

And what they found was pretty shocking: Teenagers were regularly put into solitary confinement.

"At any given time, about 100 teenagers are housed in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. ... Every day, thousands of teenagers around the U.S. are held in solitary confinement, but no one knows for sure how many. That's because the federal government does not require prisons, jails, and juvenile halls to report the number of young people they put in isolation or how long they keep them there." — Reveal

Reveal spoke with a teenager, Ismael "Izzy" Nazario, who throughout his time at Rikers Island spent a total of 300 days in solitary.

That's right, 300 days.

So teenagers — young people in their most formative years — are essentially being locked in a box.

Image by Wolfram Burner/Flickr.

A 10-by-7 room. They have no human contact. Just a toilet, a sink, and a bunk. Food comes in through a slot in the door. They might go on like this for six months.

Imagine how someone might react after days in that condition. Well, you don't have to imagine. Reports show evidence of young people pounding the walls, screaming, hallucinating, self-harming, and attempting, and committing, suicide.

Image via YouthSpeaks.

Many people were outraged by what CIR found and by Izzy's story, like Gabriel Cortez, an incredibly talented slam poet. Cortez believes that solitary confinement is a form of torture and that youth should instead be receiving the support they deserve.

Through art, writing, and good old-fashioned protest, he spoke out.

"But what room is there for growth in a cell with barely enough room to stand? What room is there for therapy and rehabilitation when trauma is promised 23 hours a day?"
— Gabriel Cortez

Check out his amazing video here. Heads up for some disturbing visuals.

The good news? As a result of the findings, Rikers Island will no longer place individuals below the age of 21 in solitary confinement.

But there's more work to be done.

Want to get other cities and states on board with protecting more young folks from this treatment?

You can. You have many options: from helping fund nonprofits like the National Juvenile Defender Center, to using ACLU's advocacy toolkits from its Stop Solitary campaign to organize in your region. You can also sign ACLU's petition to the Attorney General demanding an end to youth solitary confinement.

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Their languages are nearly extinct. They're trying to change that.

It started with three simple words in English.

"I love you."

Those three words were the premise of a video project a University of Montana student group put together. To have people simply say "I love you" in different languages.

Swahili.

Spanish.

French.

But the student group — known as The Sacred Roots Society — had an extra-special focus on languages you also might not have heard before.

(Note: The following words are spelled phonetically.)

Blackfeet.

Dakota.

Salish.

They are indigenous languages and The Sacred Roots Society's mission is to preserve them:

"It is the belief of this society that without language, we will lose our culture. This group was formed to bring language awareness to our community, our campus and the nation."

There are more than 300 languages spoken in the U.S. and nearly half are indigenous. However, many of those indigenous languages are going extinct.

This is in large part due to a phenomenon that started in the 1890s, when many Native American children were often forced to study in boarding schools by the federal government. They were given "American education" and punished for speaking their language. Essentially, they were barely able to preserve their cultures.

The history behind the extinction of some of these languages is sad. But the future of these languages doesn't have to be.

What if we gave these near-extinct languages the same type of love, appreciation, and respect that we give languages like French, German, and Spanish? The University of Montana project gave indigenous students a beautiful chance to have their languages treated as worthy as any other language and to show us the beauty of preserving differences.

For more information on how to celebrate these beautiful languages, check out these resources: Enduring Voices Project, the Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation, UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, and Cultural Survival.

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