DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997             TAG: 9703120444

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B01  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   78 lines

FOR ANGELOU, POETRY OFFERS A RACIAL BRIDGE POET SHARES LAUGHS AND TEARS AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE'S HUMANITARIAN AWARDS BANQUET.

In the soulful sounds of a slave song, Maya Angelou hears hope.

In the rollicking rhymes of contemporary black writers, she takes comfort.

Poet Angelou hears in the canon of African-American poetry the voices that could bring us all together, she told a crowd of about 700 at the Waterside Marriott Tuesday night.

``I always love to laugh,'' she said. ``It girds for the present, says `thank you' to the past and prepares for the future.''

And those attending The National Conference's humanitarian awards banquet were with her all the way. They laughed with her, and some cried with her.

A few even seemed ready to burst into song with the sweet-voiced poet as she sang-spoke her poetry.

``I see the faith in African-American poetry,'' said Angelou. ``I look to the poet always. Poetry has given me the power to have faith that we will overcome the barriers. . . of racism, sexism, ageism.''

If post-modern poetry really is politics, as many critics contend, then Angelou's comments defined the state of the nation for minorities in the concise, hard-hitting language for which she is famous.

It was more than 300 years ago when the first Africans came to these shores, and ``we're still here,'' said Angelou. Now, she said, ``there are upwards of 50 million'' blacks in this nation.

``Where does that ability to just live come from?'' she asked, then pointed to abiding faith in God.

The poet spoke, too, of overcoming religious prejudice, of creating a faith without church or synagogue walls:

``When we really come to being good Christians and Jews, we would encourage other faithful to be the closest they can be. . . closest to being what we are here for.

``That we have gathered is a testament of faith,'' said Angelou, her voice deepening in conclusion.

The National Conference, founded in 1927 as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, is a human-relations organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism in America.

Recipients of this year's awards are local leaders whose contributions to their communities are exemplary, said group leaders:

George Y. Birdsong of Suffolk is executive vice president of Birdsong Peanuts and leader of a number of local organizations, including the Tri-County Area Planned Parenthood Chapter, the Louise Obici Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Suffolk Community Health Center and Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.

``Serving and caring for others should be part of our life's responsibility,'' said Birdsong, crediting his mother for his belief in community service.

Jerrauld C. Jones of Norfolk is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and leader of the General Assembly's Black Caucus. He was the first black law clerk in the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Jones quoted from Martin Luther King Jr.'s ``Letter from Birmingham Jail'' and also bowed to his parents for instilling in him a dedication to community.

Meyera E. Oberndorf is mayor of Virginia Beach and was the first female mayor in the city's history. She was recognized recently by Newsweek magazine as one of the 25 most dynamic mayors in America.

``But for an accident of birth,'' she might have been born, like Anne Frank, in Nazi-occupied Europe, said Oberndorf, adding, ``I try to make each day a small memorial to her life.''

Funds raised through the awards dinner support programs that promote intercultural, inter-religious and interracial acceptance.

Sanford Cloud Jr., president and CEO of The National Conference and first African-American to hold the post since it was founded, also addressed the crowd.

Organizers said Angelou's appearance had brought many more people to the fund-raiser dinner. The $100,000 raised was an all-time high for the Tidewater chapter, they said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color photo]

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

``I always love to laugh,'' Maya Angelou said Tuesday night. ``It

girds for the present, says `thank you' to the past and prepares for

the future.''

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