“I Am a Human Being” — a speech by Dr. Maya Angelou at the 2013 Organization of Women Writers of Africa Symposium.

We live in a sound bite society where words are frequently taken out of context. In an effort to avoid misinterpretation I have provided the full text of Dr. Maya Angelou’s speech. After which I will illustrate my point. Enjoy!

I opened my mouth to the morning/I won’t turn back. No!

We keep on keeping on, don’t we? I’m so grateful. I’m grateful to be party to this party. I’m grateful that you won’t forget me because I won’t forget you. I call on you all the time. I make myself available to you and you know this is so. You can call on me all of the time and I’m there. I always come when you call me. Isn’t it true? The most important thing, I think, is to be present — to be present all the time, all the time to be present. Bring your whole self all the time. Don’t shuck and jive. Bring your whole self.

“I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me.” …When you look at this statement tonight, in your encyclopedia, under Terence (one “r”), you will find besides his name in italics is “Terentius Afer.” He was an African. He was a slave. He was sold to a Roman senator. The senator freed him. He became the most popular playwright in Rome… “I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me.” My Lord! That statement is liberating! It not only liberates me from other people’s ignorance, it liberates me from my own…

A woman is no small matter. A man is no small matter. A man may be four feet tall. He may be white. He may be black. He may be anything, but you know when you’re in the company of a man. You know when you’re in the company of a woman. She can be pretty, plain, fat, thin — it doesn’t matter. A woman is going to respect you and, if you are disrespectful, a woman is going to say, “Excuse me, not here you don’t.” A man is going to say, “Excuse me. No, no, not here you don’t.”

I am proud and grateful to God to be an African American woman… I never understood why some men wanted women who didn’t know anything. Wait a minute! Run that by me one more time!… You just want somebody to feel superior to. Suppose you have a heart attack. I think the wise thing is to take responsibility for the time you take up and the space you occupy. So women, if you’re with men, who don’t respect you, too bad, too sad, your bad because you can’t count on them. And men, if you’re with women, who don’t know who they are, too bad, too sad, your bad, they can’t help you.

I come to these gatherings where black women are here, and black men, and I hope other people are here cause we learn from each other and you have to learn that, you have to know that. I love being an African American woman. Now, if I were a white woman, I’d learn what that is. I’d learn because there are some white women that have been heroes and I’d like to know them… I know that some of them don’t know their history to know that they’ve already been paid for, so they don’t act in accordance with their inheritance. But there are women, Asians, Spanish-speaking, Native American, white American, African American, African women, who have paid for us already. And it behooves us to respect them and not to carry along useless baggage. — Dr. Maya Angelou

During this speech Maya Angelou repeats one sentence,

“I am a human being, therefore nothing human can be alien to me.”

by repeating this phrase she places emphasis on the words contained therein. I want to break this phrase down word by word and examine the etymology (study of words) in hopes of gaining a greater understanding.

“I AM” begins the phrase by establishes Angelou as a benevolent being in the context of the space she is occupying. The statement “I am” is unapologetic and declare one’s existence to all.

“A HUMAN BEING”, the word “a” simply acknowledges that she is singular or one. Then follows “human being”; the etymology of human breaks down to (of man), and being’s etymology breaks down to (presence or fact of existing), I believe the word “being” extends an alignment from Angelou to all that exists in our universe.

So, from these five words what do we know?

Angelou has established herself as a singular unapologetic representative of not just man kind but all that exists.

Furthermore, she goes on to say….

“THEREFORE NOTHING”. The word therefore’s etymology comes from (1800 Middle English collateral form of “for” and is used in a sense of “in consequence of that”). Angelou’s use of “therefore” links all of the successive words in the phrase as a direct result of the preceding words. Sort of like cause and effect. The word “nothing” follows, it’s etymology translates to (none-thing. “None” is Old English meaning: not one not any. “Thing” is Old English meaning: entity, being or matter.) Angelou’s use of the words “therefore nothing” declare that, not one nor any entity, being or matter…resist the urge to fill in the blank and keep reading.

So far we know Angelou is a singular unapologetic representative of man kind and all that exists declaring that not one entity, being or matter…

with just seven words Angelou has left listeners anxious to know more. By stating not one entity, being or matter; the inverse must also be true, meaning that every entity, being or matter…Angelou goes on to say…

“HUMAN CAN BE”. Human is stated twice in this phrase which I believe acknowledges the presence of all other members of the human race both past, present and future. Next, we have the words “can be”. Can: is the Old English 1st and 3rd person singular present indicative of cunnan (know, have power to be able to) which is derived from the Proto-Germanic kunnan (to be mentally able, to have learned). Moreover, Be: is derived from Old English beon, beom, bion (be, exist, come to be, become, happen). The modern verb “to be” in its entirety represents the merger of two, once distinct verbs, the “b-root” represented by “be” and the “am/was” verb, which was itself a conglomerate. This part of the phrase is stating that all other members of the human race and all other being’s that exist know or have the power to or are mentally able or have learned to exist, become or happen.

So, what does all of this mean?

To this point we know: a singular unapologetic representative of the human race and of all that exists, is stating that as a direct result of her existence not one nor any other member of the human race or of all that exists have the power to know, become or come to be….

“ALIEN TO ME” are the next words in this repeated phrase. Let’s break down the etymology of these words. Alien: from mid-14th century alien (meaning strange or foreign) also from the Latin word alienus (meaning of or belonging to another). And as a noun alien: (a stranger or foreigner). The adjectival form alius “(an)other” or alias (meaning “not of the Earth” first recorded in 1920.) Immediately following is the word “to” (Old English meaning “in the direction, for the purpose of, furthermore”). Lastly, the word “me” appears followed by a period which makes it a declarative sentence. The etymology of “me”: (Old English oblique/indirect cases of “I”, oblique form of the personal pronoun of the first person singular). So, this phrase’s etymology breaks down to: a foreigner, stranger, not of Earth, in direction to or for the purpose of, the personal pronoun first person singular or “I”.

So what does all of this mean?

The etymology of the words used tell the reader/listener the following:

a singular unapologetic representative of the human race and of all that exists, is stating that as a direct result of her existence not one nor any other member of the human race or of all that exists have the power to know, become or come to be a stranger, foreigner or not a member of Earth, in the direction of or for the purpose of any indirect or oblique forms of “I”.

Nothing on Earth can possibly become or come to be a stranger to me. This is a powerful statement because she states in first part “I AM A HUMAN BEING”, which is declarative and matter of fact and we can affirm that she is in fact human or being. She goes on to say, “THEREFORE NOTHING HUMAN CAN BE ALIEN TO ME”. So, as a direct result of Maya Angelou being a human or being, not one nor any other human nor of all that exists have the power to be able to come to be a stranger or foreigner to I/me.

I/me begin and end the sentence which in and of itself reinforces that both humans or beings mentioned in the sentence are one and the same and can never be strangers nor foreign to one another. The old saying goes, a stranger is just a friend I have yet to meet. Each being, be they human or otherwise that exists, are all connected and are indirect or oblique forms of each other. So, when we devalue or destroy one being we are in essence devaluing and destroying ourselves.

That which I/me/you/we do not fully understand must be given space to thrive and exist just as I/me/we/you desire for ourselves.

-KLT

Sources:

“I love being an African American woman: the Maya Angelou speech that changed my life”, by Nicole Sealy, http://www.salon.com/2014/05/29/i_love_being_an_african_american_woman_the_maya_angelou_speech_that_changed_my_life/.

Etymondict App Store online etymology database.