1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 510 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes pride in 1-4 recognizing Maya Angelou on the occasion of her presentation, "An 1-5 Intimate Evening with Maya Angelou," which is being presented by the 1-6 National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas, Incorporated; and 1-7 WHEREAS, The presentation takes place on May 22, 1997, at the 1-8 Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston and is part of 1-9 an endeavor to involve all disciplines of the arts in fund raising 1-10 for the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas, Incorporated; 1-11 and 1-12 WHEREAS, An extraordinary speaker who has inspired audiences 1-13 around the world, Maya Angelou has followers who transcend all 1-14 cultural, religious, and ethnic barriers and who range from young 1-15 children to world leaders and major corporate executives; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Maya Angelou is a remarkably talented poet, writer, 1-17 and actress who is famous for such internationally recognized works 1-18 as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Just Give Me a Cool Drink of 1-19 Water 'Fore I Diiie; and 1-20 WHEREAS, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, one of her 1-21 autobiographical novels, was nominated for the National Book Award 1-22 in 1970 and ran for two years on the New York Times Paperback 1-23 Nonfiction Bestseller list; Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore 2-1 I Diiie is a book of poetry that was published by Random House and 2-2 nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1971; and 2-3 WHEREAS, Her many other works include children's books such as 2-4 Life Doesn't Frighten Me, plays such as Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, 2-5 and scores of articles, short stories, and poems published in such 2-6 periodicals and newspapers as Harper's Bazaar, Ebony, the Chicago 2-7 Daily News, and the Sunday New York Times; and 2-8 WHEREAS, She has served as a writer for the Oprah Winfrey 2-9 television special, "Brewster Place," was an actress in the 2-10 television special "Roots," and wrote the score for the 2-11 Sidney Portier film, For the Love of Ivy; and 2-12 WHEREAS, Her many honors include serving as the Inaugural 2-13 Poet for President Bill Clinton and earning the Grammy for Best 2-14 Spoken Word Album, the Horatio Alger Award, the Essence Woman of the 2-15 Year award, and honorary degrees from Smith College and Lawrence 2-16 University; and 2-17 WHEREAS, Maya Angelou is a legendary figure who gives 2-18 generously of her time and talent, and she is a source of 2-19 inspiration and strength to individuals, groups, and communities 2-20 throughout the world; now, therefore, be it 2-21 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-22 75th Legislature, hereby commend Maya Angelou on her outstanding 2-23 accomplishments and express appreciation to her for making a 2-24 presentation that will be of great benefit to the National Kidney 2-25 Foundation of Southeast Texas, Incorporated; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 3-2 Maya Angelou as an expression of high esteem from the Texas Senate. 3-3 Ellis 3-4 ______________________________________ 3-5 President of the Senate 3-6 I hereby certify that the above 3-7 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-8 on April 16, 1997. 3-9 ______________________________________ 3-10 Secretary of the Senate 3-11 ______________________________________ 3-12 Member, Texas Senate