Título: Maya Angelou
Seção: Early years
Background: Maya Angelou ( ( listen); born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014) was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences.

Conteúdo: Marguerite Annie Johnson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, the second child of Bailey Johnson, a doorman and navy dietitian, and Vivian (Baxter) Johnson, a nurse and card dealer. Angelou's older brother, Bailey Jr., nicknamed Marguerite "Maya", derived from "My" or "Mya Sister". When Angelou was three and her brother four, their parents' "calamitous marriage" ended, and their father sent them to Stamps, Arkansas, alone by train, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. In "an astonishing exception" to the harsh economics of African Americans of the time, Angelou's grandmother prospered financially during the Great Depression and World War II because the general store she owned sold needed basic commodities and because "she made wise and honest investments".  Four years later, the children's father "came to Stamps without warning" and returned them to their mother's care in St. Louis. At the age of eight, while living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, a man named Freeman. She told her brother, who told the rest of their family. Freeman was found guilty but was jailed for only one day. Four days after his release, he was murdered, probably by Angelou's uncles. Angelou became mute for almost five years, believing, as she stated, "I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone". According to

user: Where did she grow up

assistant: Marguerite Annie Johnson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928,

user: who were her parents

assistant: Bailey Johnson, a doorman and navy dietitian, and Vivian (Baxter) Johnson, a nurse and card dealer.

user: Was she an only child

assistant: Angelou's older brother, Bailey Jr.,

user: how was her childhood

assistant: When Angelou was three and her brother four, their parents' "calamitous marriage" ended, and their father sent them to Stamps, Arkansas, alone by train, to live with their paternal grandmother,

user: how long did she live there

assistant: Four years later, the children's father "came to Stamps without warning" and returned them to their mother's care in St. Louis.

user: Did they move again

assistant: Shortly after Freeman's murder, Angelou and her brother were sent back to their grandmother.

user: Who was Freeman

assistant: At the age of eight, while living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, a man named Freeman.

user: who murdered him

assistant: he was murdered, probably by Angelou's uncles.

user: what was the reason he was murdered

assistant: Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, a man named Freeman.

user: How long did that go on for

assistant: Freeman was found guilty but was jailed for only one day.

user: What other interesting things happened during this time

assistant: When Angelou was 14, she and her brother moved in with their mother once again,