Maya Angelou on Empathy
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
– Maya Angelou, from Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993)
The late Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a beloved writer and poet whose autobiographical works such as I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings are considered among the greatest in the African-American literary canon. The above quote is pulled from her 1993 collection of essays Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now. A passionate Civil and Human Rights activist, Angelou advocated for an acknowledgement of all peoples’ humanity.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
from Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993) p. 12. (h/t Wikiquote)
Photo credit: Adria Richards / WikiCommons
