, Columnist
Show Ms. Angelou Some Respect, Please
Using a stranger’s given name is a privilege, not a right.
Less than a year after her death, she was on a stamp.
Photographer: Andrew Burton/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
The late Maya Angelou, one of the towering literary figures of the 20th century, would have turned 91 next month. But rather than celebrating her genius, the internet is in the midst of a weird squabble over a decades-old video in which she instructs a younger woman who says “Maya” to call her instead by her title and last name.
No instruction should have been necessary.