News > April 24, 2008

By Elliot Engstrom | News editor

Senator Hillary Clinton made a stop at Wait Chapel on April 18. The New York Senator appeared with poet and longtime friend Maya Angelou, Reynolds professor of American Studies.

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Presidential hopeful and former First Lady Hillary Clinton spoke with Professor Maya Angelou April 18 in a packed Wait Chapel. (Haowei Tong/Old Gold & Black)

Even before noon, a line began to form for the event scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Billed as “A Conversation with Senator Hillary Clinton and Dr. Maya Angelou,” the talk had over 2,000 students, staff, faculty and community members nearly filling the chapel.

It began nearly an hour late with Angelou singing a brief song and recalling her view of Clinton through the years.

“Isn’t she phenomenal?” Clinton asked the audience after that introduction.

The two lingered on some lighter, more personal notes before moving on to contemplations of racism and poverty, as well as a few policy pronouncements from Clinton.

“Letting go of not only the heavy burden of ignorance, but of prejudice and discrimination, sexism as well as racism, has never been so possible, or so necessary, as it is today,” Clinton said.

“And what is exciting and, for me, humbling is that this contest that I’m engaged in which Senator Obama exemplifies that. Neither of us were written into the constitution.”

Her contest with Illionis Senator Barack Obama has come down to the wire, despite his significant lead in delegates. North Carolina, which is typically not influential in the Democratic nomination due to its late primary may be a deciding factor this year.

Angelou had a great deal of praise for the New York senator. The poet referred to Clinton as a “bird” that has kept her attention from the time she was wife of then-governor Bill Clinton to her current presidential campaign.

“I know that Senator Clinton is a long-distance runner,” Angelou said.

“And however the odds may go and polls may show – from today, to tonight, to tomorrow morning – I know she’s in it for the long run. I am honored to say that I am with her for the long run.” Even though Angelou strongly supports Clinton, the poet also said that she is proud of one of her daughters for supporting Senator Obama. Clinton referred to Angelou as “a grace note” in her life and recalled reading Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, at a young age. The mention of the book brought cheers from the audience. Clinton also spoke about trade issues and jobs outsourced to cheaper foreign labor.

The senator called the practice “fundamentally unpatriotic” and said her policies would put a renewed focus on American-made products.

The poet and senator also discussed education in North Carolina at length. Clinton said that she thought community college should be viewed as the thirteenth and fourteenth years of public education, as the skills needed to survive in today’s job market are constantly changing. One policy Clinton put forward was a plan for developing green, renewable energy. She said that she plans to create jobs in the sector and to fund a search for sources of renewable fuel by taking away the subsidies that currently go to oil companies. After the conversation, Clinton took three questions from the audience. The first questioner was a woman who said, “I love you, Hillary. I always have, I always will.”

However, she touched on that one taboo subject of Clinton history.

“I felt so sorry for you when Bill had his affair,” she said. The audience murmured and seemed to be in a state of shock.

“I think the best way to overcome it is to become president,” she added. The woman then asked who Clinton choose as her running mate i she received the nomination. Clinton neither said nothing about her husband’s infidelities or possible vice presidents, stating that she needed to become the nominee before she could choose. After questions, Angelou ended the evening by reading a prose poem she wrote for Clinton on the occasion.

“Hillary Clinton will not give up on you and all she asks is that you not give up on her,” Angelou said. “She’s been there, done that, and risen ... If you help her to rise, we will all rise with her.”

The crowd responded with a standing ovation. Angelou’s students in her class this semester attended the event as special guests with reserved seating near the front. Afterward, they were invited backstage for a chance to meet and greet the senator in private. Out of Clinton’s four trips to North Carolina, two have now been to Winston-Salem. The candidate has also visited Raleigh and Fayetteville.

She also mentioned the the city by name in her first TV ad in the state, and filmed another ad while in Winston-Salem on April 18, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

Clinton continues to trail Obama by a wide margin in the North Carolina polls.

According to Pollster.com’s latest average of polls through April 21, Obama enjoys an approximately 18 percent advantage.

Contributing editor Kevin Koehler and staff writer Molly Nevola contributed reporting to this article.