Maya Angelou

(http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/angelou_maya.html)

Maya Angelou is an inspirational figure for anyone, as she took a difficult childhood and life’s obstacles, not only overcoming them, but making tremendous contributions in the worlds of literature, the arts, civil rights, and women’s rights.

Maya was born April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, but moved to Arkansas to live with her Aunt at three. Here she grew up experiencing the discrimination and treatment of blacks, but also absorbed Southern African American values, faith, and traditions. These would continue playing a large role in her later life and be immersed in all her work. Within the first twelve years of her life, she had experienced her parent’s divorce, moved from family member to family member, been sexually abused and spoke about it which resulted in the abuser’s death, and because of, remained mute for nearly 5 years fearing her own words. Around age twelve, Maya met an impacting woman who befriended her, helping her out of silence and also introducing her to classic literature. This is when she moved to San Francisco to live with her mother, and was exposed to many of the progressive ideas in which she later became very involved in. During her school years she studied drama and dance, developing her talents for the arts, including poetry. She dropped out of high school to become San Francisco’s first black woman cable car conductor, became pregnant, graduated high school and at sixteen left home to support son and herself.

In the next decade Maya would go from a married, nightclub singer to a single, professional singer, dancer, actress, writer, screenplay writer, and poet. She traveled with operas, Broadway, and appeared on television shows. She settled in New York City at the end of the 1950s. She never lost her love for writing songs and poems, and to develop her skills she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, giving her a place with other black writers passionate for the Civil Rights Movement. She also participated in plays and wrote screenplays with Off-Broadway, dealing with civil rights and freedom issues, meet many more activists. It was during this time in 1960 when she met and married a South African Civil Rights leader and moved to Africa. After this marriage ended, she remained in Africa and worked at the University of Ghana’s School of Music and Drama. Here she studied and became fluent in five languages and became close friends with Malcolm X. Through this friendship and working at the University, Maya’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement grew and was intensified, working with newspapers, organizations, and broadcasting. When she moved back to the United States she became active in television production and other Civil Rights opportunities. Here she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., worked closely with him, and at his request became a prominent part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Until now, Maya’s life had produced strength, independence, passion, and a confidence that penetrated all of her works, speeches, and involvement in her mission.

When Dr. King was assassinated, she began to write I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Quickly this book rose to be a best seller, giving her national acclaim and encouragement to put her lyrics, poetry, thoughts, and story in writing. Countless poems and autobiographies were published, capturing international attention. She since has become a demanded speaker, lecturer, and composer, as well as writing articles, stories, poetry, plays, compositions, and the screenplay for “Georgia Georgia”. She was the first black woman to have a script produced and have this much acclaim. She read one of her more famous poems, “On the Pulse of the Morning” at President Clinton’s inauguration. She has won Grammies for her poems, received a Pulitzer and Tony Award nomination for her poem collections, has been woman of the year and top 100 lists in many woman magazines. Her countless achievements, awards, and contributions reflect how she is one of the most influential voices in today’s literature and social change worlds.

(http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ang0bio-1)

Maya Angelou’s life is an inspiration to everyone to overcome life’s struggles and stand up for what you believe in. She overcame huge obstacles, pursuing her passion for social change and writing. She is making incredible contributions, changing individual lives through her captivating and honest writing and speaking; moreover making significant contributions in the world for social change and Civil Rights. Currently, she is lecturing around the world, writing, teaching, and continuing to make a difference.