IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 684 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 
Postal Service should issue a commemorative stamp honoring the life 
of Maya Angelou. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2014 
Mrs. BEATTY (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 
CLEAVER, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. RAN-
GEL, Mr. TIERNEY, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. WELCH, Mr. NEAL, 
Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. KEATING, Mr. STIVERS, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. RUSH, 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. YOHO, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. RICE of 
South Carolina, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. STEWART, 
Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. 
SLAUGHTER, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. SWALWELL of 
California, Mr. HECK of Washington, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. DOGGETT, 
Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 
PALLONE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 
JONES, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. TSONGAS, 
Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. LEE of 
California, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. GABBARD, Ms. 
KUSTER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. ENYART, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Mr. COHEN, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
Ms. BASS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DAINES, 
Mr. MORAN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. ELLI-
SON, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. KILMER, 
Mr. BECERRA, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. GARCIA, Ms. 
SCHWARTZ, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. CA´RDENAS, 
Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. POLIS, 
Mr. BARBER, Mr. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BROWN of Flor-
ida, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. 
SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. CLAY, and Ms. FUDGE) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:02 Jul 25, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\HR684.IH
HR684
tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 684 IH 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States Postal Service should issue a com-
memorative stamp honoring the life of Maya Angelou. 
Whereas Dr. Maya Angelou, was born Marguerite Ann John-
son in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, and raised 
in Arkansas; 
Whereas Maya Angelou was a prominent and celebrated au-
thor, poet, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, and 
civil rights activist; 
Whereas hailed for her talents as a performing artist at an 
early age, Maya Angelou toured Europe with a produc-
tion of the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess in 1955 and 
released her first album in 1957; 
Whereas Maya Angelou was active in the civil rights move-
ment and was a personal friend of both Dr. Martin Lu-
ther King, Jr., and Malcolm X; 
Whereas Maya Angelou served as a leader of the Southern 
Christian Leadership Conference during the civil rights 
movement; 
Whereas in 1969, Maya Angelou wrote the autobiography ‘‘I 
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’’, which catapulted her 
to international acclaim for its vivid and honest depiction 
of the experience of black women in the Jim Crow era; 
Whereas Maya Angelou has published more than 30 best-sell-
ing titles, including her collection of poems, ‘‘Just Give 
Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie’’, which earned 
her a Pulitzer Prize nomination; 
Whereas Maya Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed 
the score for the 1972 film ‘‘Georgia, Georgia’’; her 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:02 Jul 25, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR684.IH
HR684
tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 684 IH 
script, the first by an African-American woman to be 
filmed; 
Whereas Maya Angelou served in various capacities to several 
Presidents of the United States, including President Ger-
ald Ford, who appointed her to the American Revolution 
Bicentennial Commission, and President Jimmy Carter, 
who appointed her to serve on the Presidential Commis-
sion for the International Year of the Woman; 
Whereas Maya Angelou was the first African-American to 
serve as an Inaugural Poet, authoring and reciting the 
poem ‘‘On the Pulse of Morning’’ in 1993; 
Whereas Maya Angelou was a trailblazer in literature and po-
etry who bravely explored the ways in which socially 
marginalizing forces affected African-American women; 
Whereas Maya Angelou was honored with the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom in 2011, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, 
and the National Medal of Arts in 2000 for her excep-
tional contributions to American culture as an author 
and poet; 
Whereas Maya Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014, in her 
North Carolina home at age 86, leaving behind a legacy 
of literacy achievement and an indelible mark on the 
movement for civil rights; and 
Whereas issuing a postage stamp honoring Maya Angelou is 
fitting and proper: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the Postmaster General should issue a com-
memorative postage stamp honoring Maya Angelou; 
and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:02 Jul 25, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR684.IH
HR684
tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS