Be a Rainbow in Someone Else’s Cloud

by Dr. Maya Angelou

There is an African American song 19th Century, which,  is so great.

 It says:

“when it looked like the sun wasn’t shining anymore, God put a rainbow in the clouds”

Imagine!  I’ve had so many rainbows in my clouds. I had a lot of clouds. But I have had so many rainbows.

And one of the things I do when I step up on the stage, when I stand up to translate,  when I go to teach my classes, when I go to direct a movie: I bring everyone who has ever been kind to me with me — Black, White, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American, Gay, Straight, everybody — I say “Come with me. I’m going on the stage. Come with me; I need you now” Long dead – you see, so I don’t ever feel I have no help. I’ve had rainbows in my clouds.

The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so that you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you; may not call God the same name you call God if they call God at all. You see; and may not eat the same dishes prepared the way you do; may not dance your dances or speak your language. But, be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.

—Maya Angelou, on Oprah’s Master Class.

Maya Angelou was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman.  She was also a prolific poet. In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama. More than thirty health care and medical facilities have been named after Dr. Maya Angelou.