Gray to honor poet Maya Angelou Wednesday

Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) is expected to shower renowned poet Maya Angelou with accolades Wednesday during his weekly news conference.

In 2009, Angelou and civil and women’s rights icon Dorothy I. Height tried to meet with then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to discuss the city’s plans to evict a nonprofit from the Southeast Tennis & Learning Center. Former D.C. first lady Cora Masters Barry heads the Recreation Wish List Committee, which teamed with the city Department of Parks and Recreation to build the recreation center a decade ago.

Though Fenty explained that there was a scheduling conflict, his failure to meet with Angelou and Height, became a campaign issue last year in his unsuccessful bid for reelection, particularly among many African American voters who saw it as disrespectful. Height died last year at age 98.