Maya Angelou…. Doing Her Thing


mayaA few months back a letter came to the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies department from a woman named Rusty Belote who lives in Florida. Rusty had worked for OSU’s Consultation Services services in the 1970’s specifically working with women and minorities who needed resources and counseling. Back then, Rusty explained, the Women’s Studies “program” was closely linked with counseling services, the women involved in both often came together to bring special events to campus: rape prevention and self-defense workshops, coming out workshops, mental health resources, as well as speakers and events. In Rusty’s letter she told me she had some materials she had saved over the years and wondered if the department would like them. I wrote Rusty back and told her of course we would love to see what she had and then forgot all about it until today. This morning, the day the inspiring and prolific Maya Angleou died, Rusty gave the department this framed and autographed event poster from Maya Angelou’s visit to OSU campus in the 1970s, sponsored by the then Women’s Services with Black Student Programs, titled “Black Poets, Black Poetry, Black Joy”. Thank you, Rusty!

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