In 2004, the Democratic National Convention was held in Boston. The event was monuments for a number of reasons – it rendered current Secretary of State John Kerry the Democratic nominee for President of the United States, it provided a window into a then-budding Illinois politician named Barack Obama, and, perhaps most importantly, it would be the last time many of us would be afforded the luxury of allowing the wise words of Maya Angelou to resonate in our minds.

On Wednesday, May 28, the groundbreaking poet passed away at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. at the age of 86. According to the New York Times, the cause of death is not immediately known, though she had been suffering from heart problems for some time.

Best known for penning I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the autobiographical account of her childhood in race-torn Arkansas, Angelou attended the 2004 DNC , at which she spoke about one of the nation’s most moving civil rights addresses that took place 40 years earlier.

In 1964, African-American woman Fannie Lou Hamer mobilized the the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white delegation at the DNC in Atlantic City, N.J. to the chagrin of President Lyndon Johnson, the incumbent Democratic president who was seeking reelection.

Angelou recounted the sheer fortitude of Hamer while acknowledging trailblazers like Frederick Douglass and Patrick Henry who, though from different eras, fighting for different causes, embodied the American sentiments of freedom and equality for all.

“To represent a noble-minded country where the mighty do not always crush the weak and the dream of democracy is not in the sole possession of the strong,” said Angelou. “It is fitting tonight that delegates—you and I—hear the questions raised by Fannie Lou Hamer 40 years ago.”

Take a look at the video above. Keep in mind it’s some 53-minutes long. To catch all of Angelou’s heartfelt address, which runs just approximately eight-minutes long, jump to 46:20.

Rest in peace, Maya Angelou.