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When Maya Angelou stepped to the podium on a cold January day in 1993, she became the first African American and the first woman to offer an inaugural poem. 

“On the Pulse of Morning” garnered immediate praise for its sweeping portrait of American history and wisdom.

Elizabeth Alexander remembers that moment — and contrasts it with her own time on the same stage — on MPR News with Kerri Miller, in the first installment of an occasional series, “They Believed.” 

At this pivotal moment in U.S. history, we want to look back at the words of America’s firebrands, visionaries and truth-tellers. What do they reveal about who we were then – and who we are now?

 is a poet and scholar. She currently leads The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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Distinguished poet and scholar Elizabeth Alexander reflects on Maya Angelou’s groundbreaking inaugural poem “On the Pulse of Morning” through the lens of her own inaugural moment.

They Believed: Maya Angelou’s ‘On the Pulse of Morning’

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