In a concert held at the Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal jazz singer Helena Allan paid musical tribute to writer Maya Angelou, an important figure in African American history. The evening brought Angelou’s art and legacy to life through relevant jazz standards and original works set to her poetry. Maya Angelou contributed to the causes of justice and equality as a civil rights activist but also as an artist. While she personally knew Martin Luther King and Malcom X, she is also famous for her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was the first nonfiction best-seller by an African American woman.
Each year, the Montreal Round Table on Black History Month promotes activities such as this one which highlight the history and the contemporary situation of Black communities in Quebec and elsewhere. We thank them for their collaboration this year and in years past in joint Black History Month events.
