Maya Angelou- by Kiera Johnson

## **Maya Angelou**

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist and artist who dedicated her life to the arts and educating people on civil rights issues by writing many works and preforming.

### Occupation

Writer, dancer, performer, screen writer, actress,poet, and civil rights activist

**Maya Angelou** (1928-2014) was a poet, civil right's activist, author, actress, screen writer, and dancer.

### **Biography**

"Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou", or Maya Angelou, was born in St.Louis Missouri. After her parents divorce at the age of three; she was sent to live with her brother and grandma in Stamps Arkansas. She faced racial discrimination growing up in the south, but found a passion in her faith. Maya was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend at age seven. She confided in her brother (they shared a close relationship), but she later found out an uncle killed her assailant and she fell silent for five years, as she felt that her words had killed him. Maya started speaking again at age thirteen when she and her brother returned to their mother in San Francisco. Maya won a scholarship to attend the "San Francisco Labor School", where she furthered her passion in dance, music, preforming, and poetry. She became pregnant during her senior year, and worked two jobs to support herself being a single mother. She married later on and took the name Maya Angelou as her stage name, combining a variation of her husband's name and her nickname. Her marriage did not last, but her preforming career was very successful. She later fell in love with a civil rights activist named Vusumzi Makeand they moved abroad where she taught, wrote, studied, and mastered different languages. They later broke up, and she and her son moved to Ghana.

In her 30's she became politically active with the Civil Right's Movement. She worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and came back to the United States to work with Malcom X. She published her first autobiography in 1970, and went on to be appointed to different cultural commissions by President's Ford, and Carter. She also wrote for television, becoming the first black woman to get a screenplay produced (1972). She went on to author children's books, author essays, articles, and poetry. She also appeared on television and in films.

### Famous Works

* "I know why the caged bird sings"
* Actress in "Porgy and Bess"
* Appeared in multiple TV Shows- such as Sesame Street.
* I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
* A Song Flung Up to Heaven
* Letter to My Daughter
* Still I Rise
* On the Pulse of the Morning

### Awards

* The BET Honors Award for Literary Arts (2012)
* Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010)
* Glamour Award for The Poet (2009)
* NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Non-fiction (2009, 2005)
* Marian Anderson Award (2008)
* Gracie Awards (2008)
* NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work- Poetry (2007)
* Quill Award for Poetry (2006)
* Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2003,1996, 1994)
* Spingarn Medal (1994)
* Women in Film Crystal Award (1992)
* Langston Hughes Medal (1991)

### Impact

The impact that Maya Angelou left will be remembered for many years to come. She grew up in the age of Jim Crow and allowed her experiences to turn into an influential voice. She gave Black Women a voice that was so often silenced. In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Angelou tells her coming of age story. She told how she had been raped as a child and her experiences growing up. This provided a route for other Black Women later to tell their stories and have them heard. Her first autobiography was a success and helped her become a national figure. It also unapologeticly talked about racism, her quest to find identity and dignity, and women's lives in a patriarchal society. She gave a voice to the silenced and helped educate people on social injustice. In "Still I Rise", Angelou discusses her resiliency and determination in the face of adversity in this poem. This poem out of "And Still I Rise", the collection of poetry it stems from, was influential in bringing attention to the social struggles Black People faced on a daily basis. Many people look to this poem for influence, guidance, and courage. Angelou uses her own experiences along with common experiences of Black People in history to successfully educate and create a lasting impression on all those who interacted with her ground breaking work.

Maya Angelou was a major influence on the political climate and educated/influenced many people by giving a voice to the oppressed.This was done through her passionate words and immaculate deliverance of her message. She was a civil rights icon, but also a feminist icon. She commonly gave examples in her works of racial and gender injustice. She brought attention to the oppression and discrimination of these minorities in a way that was courageous and graceful. She was invited to speak at the Presidential Inauguration for Bill Clinton and read "On Pulse of the Morning". This was ground breaking as she was the second poet in history to read at a presidential inauguration,the first African American, and the first woman to do so. In this poem she drove home her points of change, inclusion, and responsibility. She conveyed unity in this poem in a way that touched so many.

Maya Angelou was many things, writer, dancer, performer, poet, but the thing she is most remembered by was her drive to make positive change in racial discrimination and her drive to highlight the inequality of both race and gender. Angelou broke down barriers her entire life; she was the first black, women street car conductor, she won many awards for her works, and she even won the Presidential Medal of Freedom- the highest civilian honor that can be awarded. Maya Angelou dedicated her life to her art and to making a difference for marginalized communities. She was truly a feminist and a civil rights icon because of her dedication to the cause and her fierce passion for making a difference.

### Sources

* https://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388
* https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/maya-angelou
* http://www.achievement.org/achiever/maya-angelou/#biography
* http://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/maya-angelou/
* https://learnodo-newtonic.com/maya-angelou-accomplishments
* http://people.com/celebrity/maya-angelous-most-notable-works/