A SENSE OF PLACE

Janis F. Kearney, who hails from Gould in Lincoln County is President and Founder of the Celebrate! Maya Project, founded in July 2014, after the death of Dr. Maya Angelou. The Project was founded with the help of a small, diverse group of women - artists, educators, historians, religious leaders and public program managers—all passionate about changing lives and the futures of youth in Arkansas, most particularly in the Arkansas Delta region.

 

The organization began with the sole mission of celebrating Maya Angelou’s life and legacy in the place she called home -- Stamps, Arkansas.   In 2015, the Project incorporated as a 501(C) (3) nonprofit, with the mission of helping honor and promote the inclusive literacy, creativity and social consciousness of the life and work of artist and activist Dr. Maya Angelou through work with youth and communities of Arkansas. Its work includes educating youth about the iconic artist, and creating literacy, writing, history, poetry and arts projects and programming around the state.