Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is a poet, novelist, educator, actress, and civil rights activist among many other things. But most importantly she's a role model. She entered this world on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her childhood was split between St. Louis, Missouri and Stamps, Arkansas.

Maya was so passionate about the arts that she won a scholarship to study drama and dance at the San Francisco's Labor School. However, at age 14 she dropped out to become San Franciso's first African-American female cable car conductor. She returned to finish high school later. Then in 1954 and 1955 she toured Europe with an opera production. Maya enjoyed studying modern dance but in 1957 she switched things up by recording her first musical album. Then, in 1958, she moved to New York and wrote and performed some big time plays, The Blacks and Cabaret For Freedom. From 1960 to 1964 she traveled abroad and gained knowledge from other cultures. In 1964, after returning to the states, Mrs. Angelou got involved with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. but her work with them ended soon because of their assassinations. In 1970, Maya published her autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. There were many other great things Dr. Angelou took part in. The list could run on forever.

As of April 2010 Maya Angelou is 82 years old. She is still alive and kicking. She lives in both New York, New York and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her time is divided between these two states.

Marguerite Ann Johnson, or Maya Angelou is important to me because she made a difference for not only teen mothers, women and African-Americans but for people all around the world. She's an example of what a real woman looks like. After being surrounded by many terrible events in her lifetime, she still found a way to overcome it all and conquer her dreams.