In 2009, Maya Angelou, who died this morning at the age of 86, placed three calls to New York state senators urging them to support marriage equality.
The New York Times reported (five years ago today):
In a telephone interview, Ms. Angelou, who has a home in Harlem, said she felt compelled to speak out because she believes that legalizing same-sex marriage is a matter of social fairness — a subject that has been a theme of her writing.
“I would ask every man and every woman who's had the blessing of having children, ‘Would you deny your son or your daughter the ecstasy of finding someone to love?' ” she said.
Ms. Angelou said she believed that society made gay relationships hard enough without the added burden of making marriage illegal.
“To love someone takes a lot of courage,” she said. “So how much more is one challenged when the love is of the same sex and the laws say, ‘I forbid you from loving this person'?”
Thank you, Dr. Angelou, and rest in peace.
