Celebrating Maya Angelou's children

Students and teachers from the See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou Public Charter School program were feted for excellence by their namesake and hundreds of guests Friday night at the Lincoln Theater.

Celebrated poet Dr. Maya Angelou greeted the students and guests from a special perch near the historic stage, where notables such as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway once entertained Washington's black elite. She shook hands and she took pictures with children and guests, as close friend Dr. Dorothy Height , chairman and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women, and relatives of Angelou looked on.

The event, hosted by journalist Renee Poussaint and singer Patti Austin, marked the second year that students and staff "who have made extraordinary contributions" to the organization were honored with Maya Way Awards. Awards were also given to friends of the organization, which was started in 1997 to help children involved in the juvenile justice system. There are now high schools in Shaw and Northeast, a middle school attached to the Benning Road NE high school and a transition center on H Street, for some of the older students.

Among the special guests in the audience were founders James Forman Jr. and David Domenici who, in starting the schools, fulfilled a dream to "create a holistic program" for teenagers who had run afoul of the law to rebuild their lives, staffers said. Forman, son of civil rights icon James Forman, is Angelou's godson.

Boston businessman Don Davis, emeritus board member, was awarded the agency's visionary award. Davis donated six figures to assist in the building of the high school after sitting down with students for a long chat years ago at Ben's Chili Bowl, organizers said. He even helped the organization raise matching funds. Davis congratulated the students on their success and urged them to be moral to keep achieving. "You don't cheat, lie, steal or [be] unfair or untruthful," he urged. "You've got to decide, 'Am I going to abuse my body or take care of it? Am I going to be honorable or not?'"

The students stole the show from the time Thomas Veasley, Louis Hall III and Astra Armstrong joined Poussaint to welcome the guests. Danielle Wright and Louis Josey, students at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School Shaw High School joined with Buan Gray, a student at the Maya Angelou Academy, and Nyya Jones, a student at the Maya Angelou Transition Center, drew applause when they recited a poem called "I, Too, Am the Maya Way," based on a poem by Langston Hughes.

"I am a true achiever.
They said I would not make it in life,
Cause I didn't do right.
But I say,
It's my time to do more.
Tomorrow,
I'll be back on the right track,
Having clearer goals
Working hard...
They'll see how intelligent I am
And be amazed," Nyya recited when it was her turn.

Hear, hear.

The Evans HIgh School Choir, resplendent in red vests and white shirts, led by Brandon Lowe, drew a standing ovation with a rendition of the gospel "Grateful."

Dr. Marian White-Hood, director of academics, and a former award winning principal in Prince George's County--my son was one of her students--said she is constantly amazed by the students and their commitment to turning their lives around. "They were disconnected--kids who had been in the juvenile justice system, some had been in trouble in school and in the community," she said. "They needed to belong to a larger purpose. We have a social justice mission, Many of our activities in learning involve social justice issues like health care, teen parenting, education, juvenile justice, etc. and the students respond to that."

Maya Angelou beamed as the students took to the stage to make presentations and accept awards. She asked people in the audience to see the film "Precious," about a teenage girl who was abused to understand the kinds of obstacles some young people face. She told the story of a young woman, who, as a high school student, recommended that the schools be named for her. She later met the young woman, who by then, was a graduate student who had turned her life around.

"These are my children. They don't know it, but they are," she told the audience. "I am amazed by these young men and women...They have come so far, sometimes with very little help. Sometimes, at home, they are not given the support... They are my children. They are your children. They are all of our children."

What a wonderful program!

By

Avis Thomas-Lester

 |  March 15, 2010; 2:33 AM ET Save & Share:                 
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