Essay about Maya Angelou

Have you ever thought about becoming a singer, poet, dancer, screenwriter, journalist, civil rights activist, and a memoirist all in a lifetime? Well Maya Angelou did just that. She first began as a singer and dancer, next she became a journalist and civil right activist, and then she later became a memoirist, screenwriter, and a poet. She met many other role models and even fundraised for Martin Luther King Jr. She was also honored for different kinds of awards.

Maya Angelou was an inspiring activist, poet, and woman. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. Throughout her lifetime she explored her career options as an actress, dancer, singer, writer, and editor among many other careers. Angelou had a tough childhood. Her parents divorced when she was very young and she was sent to live with her grandmother in Arkansas along with her brother Bailey. As an African American, Angelou experienced discrimination and racial prejudices. Angelou gave birth to her son Guy, at the age of sixteen and married her first husband Tosh Angelos, at the age of twenty-four. Angelou and Tosh divorced years later however, she did get married a couple of more times. Angelou experienced many

Oppressed women have been unjustly held back from achieving full equality for much of human history. A woman no matter neither color nor education faces discrimination on a day to day basis. Barriers that are place in their way to advancing includes: lack of mentoring, lack of opportunities for career development, biased rating and testing system and counterproductive behavior and harassment by colleges (Schaefer, pg 15). In the past, women did not have jobs and were to clean, cook and care for the children, also did not have the right to vote. While the man work long hours to provide for his family and gave orders as the women followed. As time went on and rights were given to women, the men did not like the idea that controlled was being lost. They refused to let women become equal to males. Women are allow to work the same career as males, but will never be paid the same as males. This paper addresses Maya Angelou life and how her writing and public speaking inspired women to overcome discrimination.

Maya Angelou was born on April 28, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri to Bailey and Vivian Johnson. Her given name was Marguerite Ann Johnson, but she was nicknamed “Maya” by her older brother. Over the course of her life, Angelou had many jobs ranging from a fry cook to a sex worker. She broke through as both an author and poet with her publication of her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969. (Wikipedia.com) From that point on, Maya Angelou would become a very prominent figure in American literature.

Maya Angelou, who was the first African-American to work in the San Francisco streetcars, accomplished many things in her life. This fact proves that Angelou was a woman who believed in doing what needs to be done in order to accomplish her goals. Angelou made an influence on the world with her books and poems that related to diverse people in different situations, but most importantly, she fought for African-American right in the early and middle 1900s.

The inspiring African-American woman born in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri has been one of the many influential voices of our time. Educating herself and having love for the arts helped mold her life into what she imagined becoming a poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and even a civil rights activist. During her early years while still in High School Dr. Angelou experienced brutal racial discrimination directing her to the values of traditional African-Americans.

On March 25, 1931, nine African Americans were riding a cargo train with a number of white males and two white women. While on the train, a fight broke out between the white and black boys that were on the train. The black boys were able to kick the white boys off the train. The white boys alerted the station master that they were assaulted by a group of black boys. Once the train got to the next stop, all of the black boys were detained and transported to a jail in Scottsboro, Alabama. While the black boys were not detained by the police, they were detained by an angry group of whites.

In Maya Angelou’s narrative essay, titled “Champion of the World” (1970), she describes the fight Africa-Americans were fighting to be seen as equals by the white people in America. Angelou has a constant uses of emotional sentences to allow her readers to understand why this fight is so important to the African-American community. Angelou then points out the cultural differences between the white and African community with the use of imagery and diction. Angelou’s purpose throughout this essay is to show her audience the struggle African-Americans have went through to be seen as an equal and to understand that their victory didn’t happen overnight. Maya Angelou seems to have an African-American audience in mind as she uses cultural diction and references she expects her readers to be familiar with.

The fact that African-Americans were prejudiced and treated in an ill manner stands as a well-accepted historical statement, but the injured emotions, identity and cultural heritage of them are often neglected. is an autobiography of Maya Angelou in which she recollects her childhood memory and sends a strong message to the reader.

Maya Angelou has inspired me in more ways than one, and I had to write about her. When Maya speaks people listen. She has this wisdom that only few have, especially when life wasn’t always great. She turned tragedy into triumph, and helped others in doing so. So, Maya has proven too many women, especially black women that you succeed, even if you have had a child in your teen years. She’s proof that with determination nothing is unattainable.

Maya Angelou, a mother, a dancer, a singer, an actress, a poet, an author, and a civil rights activist, has become one of the most influential women in the world. Growing up as an African-American in the most racial conflictive years, Angelou has faced many struggles throughout her life. Those struggles didn’t stop her from doing what she loved and standing up for what she believed in. Angelou never gave up and always fought for justice whether it was through writing, performing, or speaking. Maya Angelou’s life experiences have influenced how she writes and performs.

Throughout history there have been great poets and writers who have had great impact on the world. Some great poets are Fredrick Douglass, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B Du Bois. Although the most influential poet to me is Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou has made great contribution and impact through her poems, books, and movies. Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928 in St. Louis Missouri.

This simple act of honoring a figure in civil rights depicts the selflessness and love that Maya Angelou possessed. She remains a woman of importance in American culture because of her beneficial actions of creating thought-provoking literature that inspires change, speaking truthfully about unfavorable issues,

On May 14, 1961 the first attack on the Freedom Riders happened in Anniston, Alabama. The Grey Hound bus the riders were on was attacked at the station and after being able to escape there the mob followed the bus down the road and forced to pull over. This mob full of Ku Klux Klan members tried and failed to gain access to the bus upon failing multiple times the bus was bombed and the riders and other passengers were trapped inside. The mob planned to kill the riders but highway patrolmen showed up and warning shots sent the mob away letting the riders off. But it didn’t stop there, once off the bus the mob beats the riders to the point they have to be hospitalized. The second bus, a Trailway’s bus didn’t have a chance to make it out the station before the riders were

Maya Angelou and Alice Walker are two well-known contemporary African- American writers. Although both women are from different generations they share some of the same qualities and experiences. Both women used their past experiences of tragedy and hardship as a stepping stool for growth by turning that pain into what now are famous stories and poems. For most writers, majority of their work stem from their own experiences, and for both Alice and Maya a great deal of their works regarded the dilemmas many African American people faced during that time such as prejudice and discrimination.