Maya Angelou Memorial Service: WATCH As Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey & Others Remember The Life Of Famous Late Poet & Author [LIVESTREAM]
The late famous poet, author, professor and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is set to be remembered today during a private memorial service for family and friends at Wake Forest University.
Maya Angelou Passes Away At 86
Angelou who was the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at the college from 1982 until her death, is best known for her written works including I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and her collaborations with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
She died May 28th at the age of 86.
Remembering Maya Angelou Through Her Most Famous Quotes
The service will include some other famous faces, for those whose lives she touched in some way. First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to make some remarks about Angelou, as is her close friend and media mogul, Oprah Winfrey.
Country singer Leanne Womack is scheduled to perform her hit song, I Hope You Dance at the service as well, after Angelou's family purposely requested it because it was the poet's favorite musical number.
"I was honored, moved and thrilled about everything she said to me about the song and my singing," Womack told Rolling Stone June 4. "But all these years later, the song remained? That says so much about the power of music and poetry: the way the human condition can be filtered down in a song. Keeping it real and honest, but also maintaining the love in your heart and compassion...That makes for an excellent life, and that's what I think Maya Angelou found in this song.
"Maya Angelou is one of the true modern American voices in literature," she added. "Her books have touched so many, and the fact that my song touched her...well, you can't say 'no.' I couldn't imagine not singing it for her, especially on Saturday."
Fox 8 reports that former President Bill Clinton will also be at the service as well.
Though the service is private, those who also wish to pay respects to Angelou can watch via a live stream. Both Wake Forest and Winfrey's cable network, OWN are providing such services.
View the Wake Forest livestream here.
View the OWN livestream here.