Women Maya Angelou Quotes & Sayings

It is very dangerous to make a person larger than life because, then, young men and women are tempted to believe, well, if he was that great, he's inaccessible, and I can never try to be that or emulate that or achieve that. — Maya Angelou

It is the worst thing you can do, women, is whine, .. I mean the worst. Don't complain, protest. — Maya Angelou

When women take care of their health they become their own best friend. — Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me. — Maya Angelou

Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women. — Maya Angelou

Strong women- precious jewels all- their humanness is evident in their accessibility. We are able to enter into the spirit of these women and rejoice in their warmth and courage. — Maya Angelou

Sometimes guns really matter. Protecting those who need protection - children, women, minorities in rough parts of town, old folks living in places where cops aren't nearby. Guns are true empowerment for the powerless. — Maya Angelou

We are braver and wiser because they existed, those strong women and strong men ... We are who we are because they were who they were. It's wise to know where you come from, who called your name. — Maya Angelou

I'm interested in women's health because I'm a woman. I'd be a darn fool not to be on my own side. — Maya Angelou

Black women have not historically stood in the pulpit, but that doesn't undermine the fact that they built the churches and maintain the pulpits. — Maya Angelou

I am the dream and the hope of the slave. — Maya Angelou

When I passed forty I dropped pretense, 'cause men like women who got some sense. — Maya Angelou

Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For a new beginning. — Maya Angelou

Being a woman is hard work. — Maya Angelou

If men are God's gift to women, then God must really love gag gifts. — Maya Angelou

As far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them. — Maya Angelou

Ritie, don't worry 'cause you ain't pretty. Plenty pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind. — Maya Angelou

This conference ? of, for and about women ? is, in itself, a rainbow in the clouds. When numerous women come together and show that they care, not only for themselves but also for each other, that is the occasion when a rainbow is shining down on somebody else. — Maya Angelou

We need to develop courage, and we need to develop it in small ways first ... You develop a little courage, so that if you decide, I will not stay in rooms where women are belittled; I will not stay in company where races, no matter who they are, are belittled; I will not take it; I will not sit around and accept dehumanising other human beings: - if you decide to do that in small ways, and you continue to do it - finally you realize you've got so much courage. Imagine it - you've got so much courage that people want to be around you. They get a feeling that they will be protected in your company. — Maya Angelou

Encouragement to all women is - let us try to offer help before we have to offer therapy. That is to say, let's see if we can't prevent being ill by trying to offer a love of prevention before illness. — Maya Angelou

It is imperative that young white men and women study the black American history. It is imperative that blacks and whites study the Asian American history. — Maya Angelou

There is a kind of strength that is almost frightening in Black women. It's as if a steel rod runs right through the head down to the feet. — Maya Angelou

Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. — Maya Angelou

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow. — Maya Angelou

We agreed that great men and women should be forced to live as long as possible. The reverence they enjoyed was a life sentence, which they could neither revoke nor modify. — Maya Angelou

The laughter was sour and not really directed at white women. It was a traditional ruse that was used to shield the black vulnerability; we laughed to keep from crying. — Maya Angelou

The sadness of the women's movement is that they don't allow the necessity of love. See, I don't personally trust any revolution where love is not allowed. — Maya Angelou

I'm a feminist. I've been a female for a long time now. It'd be stupid not to be on my own side. — Maya Angelou

Why did she want to go to sea and live the rough unglamorous life of a seaman? 'Because they told me Negro women couldn't get in the union. You know what I told them?' I shook my head, although I nearly knew. 'I told them, "You want to bet?" I'll put my foot in that door up to my hip until women of every color can walk over my foot, get in that union, get aboard a ship and go to sea. — Maya Angelou

I do hope that young men and women will start to think for themselves and start to take responsibility for their own thoughts. — Maya Angelou

Women been gittin' pregnant ever since Eve ate that apple. — Maya Angelou