First lady Michelle Obama will speak about Maya Angelou at a private service Saturday for the poet and activist, the White House said Thursday.
Angelou died May 28 at age 86.
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Although Angelou’s service is private, Wake Forest University, where it will be held, announced it would live stream the service so the public can attend.
Angelou received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 from President Barack Obama. A touching Associated Press photo of him leaning down to kiss her cheek after putting the medal around her neck was posted with numerous stories when her death was announced.
The Obamas have called Angelou a "fierce friend." In 2012, Michelle Obama was a presenter for a BET Honors Ceremony for Angelou and she talked about being spellbound by the writer’s works.
“Maya Angelou teaches us that it’s not enough merely to seek greatness for ourselves," Michelle Obama said then. "We must help others discover the greatness within themselves. We need to reach down ... and reach out ... and give back ... and lift up others the way Maya has lifted us. That is how we can most truly honor our friend Maya Angelou — by how we live our lives ... by striving every day to embody the wisdom, and generosity, and radiant love with which she has graced our world.”
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