Celebrate! Maya Project supporters welcomed author Rita Coburn during a reception kicking off the 2022 Celebration during the eighth Maya Friendraiser.
The reception, at Trapnall Hall in Little Rock, was held Oct. 20. A lecture by Coburn and a screening of "Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands," which she produced and directed, was held in the Philander Smith College's Henry R. Kendall Center -- Nugent Conference Center the following night, Oct. 21.
Celebrate! Maya Project was established in 2014, with a mission of honoring the character and behavior of artist and activist Maya Angelou.
The organization has held poetry contests and art competitions as well as career-planning workshops, and is raising money through its Friendraiser to restore a 92-year-old house in the Little Rock Central High School neighborhood that can serve as a hub for after-school tutoring, classes in writing and art, a community room and learning center, a gallery in honor of Maya Angelou, a community garden and more.
-- Story and photos by Kimberly Dishongh