Honoring Sheila Jackson Lee: A Legacy of Courage and Leadership

Photo by John Lamparski

"If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased." -Dr. Maya Angelou

Today, we uplift the life, servant leadership, and legacy of Sheila Jackson Lee. She was a courageous leader, longtime Texas congresswoman, and champion of equality for all people. We extend our condolences and thoughts of comfort and strength to Congresswoman Lee's family. - The Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation

Learn more about Sheila Jackson Lee, the dedicated Democratic congresswoman and steadfast advocate for Black Americans, here.

When Great Trees Fall
When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.
When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.
When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.
Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of
dark, cold
caves.
And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
― Dr. Maya Angelou