Quotes from Maya Angelou

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.

The most difficult thing in the world, it seems to me, is to realize that I am a child of God; to keep that in my mind all the time.

You can only become great at that thing you're willing to sacrifice for.

I'm just like you - I want to be a good human being. I'm doing my best, and I'm working at it. And I'm trying to be a Christian. I'm always amazed when people walk up to me and say, 'I'm a Christian.' I always think, 'Already? You've already got it?' I'm working at it. And at my age, I'll still be working at it at 96.

I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a good Buddhist, a good Shintoist, a good Zoroastrian, a good friend, a good lover, a good mother, a good buddy - it's serious business.

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

Each time a dancer moves devoutly or a composer faithfully searches the silence for the veiled melodies, eternity is engaged.

I don't know how much longer I'll be around. I'll probably be writing when the Lord says, 'Maya, Maya Angelou, it's time.'

I long for the time when all human history is taught as one history, because it really is.

If we live long enough, we may even get over war. I imagine a time when somebody will mention the word war and everyone in the room will start to laugh. And what do you mean war?

At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.