Influx of people coming to NC may bring another Maya Angelou or Harry Golden | Opinion

After reading the recent news about the tremendous influx of people who have moved to North Carolina from other states, I started reflecting on how this latest development relates to North Carolina’s history of providing residents from other states with a place where they can find opportunities and acceptance.

This pattern shows up repeatedly in N.C. literary history. Several of the state’s most famous authors came here from other states. Maya Angelou, Harry Golden and Betty Smith are examples of authors who made this state home and, in the process, contributed to the state’s literary legacy.

Angelou lived in North Carolina from 1981 until her death in 2014. Born in 1928, she spent her childhood and adolescent years in Missouri, Arkansas and California. As an adult, she wandered the world, living in such places as San Francisco, New York City, Egypt, Ghana, Hawaii and Los Angeles. But it was not until she moved to Winston-Salem that she finally put down roots.

In 1982 she accepted the Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, where she taught a wide variety of humanities courses.

Although Angelou had already written her now-classic memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (1969) before her move to Winston-Salem, she published over 20 additional books during her 33 years as an N.C. writer. They include: “All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes” (1986), “Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now” (1993), “Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes” (2004), and “Mom & Me & Mom” (2013).

Golden spent most of his boyhood and young adult days in New York City, but in 1941 he settled permanently in Charlotte. The next year he published a trial run of the Carolina Israelite, a newspaper intended primarily for North Carolina’s Jewish community. It was a success, and in 1944 he began publishing the newspaper on a regular basis.

In addition to publishing his newspaper, Golden wrote numerous best-selling books, including “Only in America” (1958), “For 2¢ Plain” (1958), and “Enjoy, Enjoy!” (1960). These books became known for their folksy humor, but they had a serious side to them, too. In many of his publications and public appearances, Golden spoke out against racial segregation and called for an end to the Jim Crow laws. At the time of his death in 1981, Golden was Charlotte’s most famous writer.

Smith is best known for her autobiographical novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” Although the novel takes place in New York, Smith wrote the book while living in Chapel Hill.

Born in 1896, she grew up in a crowded tenement building in a working-class immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn. At an early age, she took an interest in writing, and she eventually succeeded in taking writing courses at the University of Michigan where her first husband (George Smith) was pursuing a law degree. Smith then spent a few years studying play-writing at Yale University. In 1935, she started working for the Federal Theater Project. When the project relocated to Chapel Hill, she followed and stayed.

She decided to switch from writing plays to trying her hand at writing a novel. ”A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” became a bestseller, and a popular film version was released in 1945. Smith went on to write “Tomorrow Will Be Better” (1947), “Maggie-Now” (1958), and “Joy in the Morning” (1963) — all while living in Chapel Hill.

For Angelou, Golden and Smith, moving to North Carolina proved to be a great boon to their writing careers. They all found professional opportunities, support, and acceptance in their new home state. The people of North Carolina have also benefited from the lasting contributions these writers have made to the state’s literary history. By welcoming writers from other parts of the country, North Carolina has helped establish itself as a place where creativity is valued, talent is recognized, and careers are made.