Maya Angelou Research Paper

Born April 4, 1928, in Saint Louis Missouri throughout her life, Angelou defied several obstacles placed in her path by social norms. Angelou had a trying childhood. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and she and her older brother were sent to live with their paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. During a visit with her mother, Angelou's mother's boyfriend raped her. Her uncles then killed the boyfriend, traumatizing Angelou. After her mother's boyfriend raped her and turned up dead a few days later, Angelou withdrew and chose to stay mute for five years. However,after much encouragement from her grandmother, who introduced her to literature, she gradually emerged as an artist. In 1944, Angelou gave birth to a son, Guy , at

Angelou did many important things during her lifetime. One that marked her life was working for Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as a civil rights activist. She became a spokesperson for African Americans and women around the country. Another thing that led Angelou to fame was President’s Bill Clinton invitation to participate in his inaugural. She wrote and recited the first inaugural poem for his presidency. She read On the Pulse of Morning, and Americans across the country were able to witness this special moment in time. This poem expressed the need for peace, social justice, equality as well as racial and religious harmony for all people despite their race, gender, origin or sexual orientations. Her poem was

Born April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou's given name was Marguerite Johnson, Maya and her brother Bailey spent most of their childhood living with their grandmother in rural Arkansas. Maya grew up in Stamps and learned what it was like to be a black girl in a world whose boundaries were set by whites. After five years of living with her grandmother she moved back to her mother's home in Missouri. This was a bad turn for her, when her mothers' boyfriend raped her. This violent act

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.

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.

At the age of 16, Maya left home with her son Guy. She supported them by working menial jobs such as waitressing and being a cook. In 1952, Maya married a Greek sailor named Anatasis Angelopules. In her career as a nightclub singer, she used Maya Angelou as her professional name. Even though her marriage was short lived, her performing career was blooming. In 1954-1955, she toured Europe with an opera production for Porgy and Bess. Maya also studied modern dance with Martha Graham, danced with Alvin Ailey on TV, and recorded her first album “Calypso” in 1957.

As an acclaimed poet, storyteller, and activist, Maya Angelou has contributed outstanding works to American literature. With over 50 honorary doctorate degrees, Dr. Maya Angelou has become one of the most influential voices of our time. Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Stamps, Arkansas. During the 1930’s and 1940’s in Stamps, Angelou witnessed and experienced racial discrimination in the South.

During that time She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend the times she visited . She was traumatized and for a minute she stopped talking because she was in shock. The only way she talked was through writing her feelings and emotions on paper. These events led her to have a passion for writing. Maya Angelou

Renowned author, activist, and Renaissance woman Maya Angelo was born in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She spent a sorry childhood juggling between her mother and her grandmother, and experienced the bitter reality of segregation as a south black child. The arts pushed her from these early difficult circumstances to a national stage where she was writing the inaugural speech for President Bill Clinton in 1993. Through it all, her creative vision turned the reality of the human experiencing into poetry; it defined her passion and pain.

Maya Angelou is one of the most distinguished African American writers of the twentieth century. Writing is not her only forte she is a poet, director, composer, lyricist, dancer, singer, journalist, teacher, and lecturer (Angelou and Tate, 3). Angelou’s American Dream is articulated throughout her five part autobiographical novels; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in my Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, and All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes. Maya Angelou’s American Dream changed throughout her life: in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya’s American dream was to fit into a predominantly white society in small town

The brilliant Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson to Bailey and Vivian Johnson, graced the earth on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to the split of her parents when she was a young girl, Angelou and her brother, Bailey, moved to Stamp, Arkansas, where they resided with their grandmother. While living in Arkansas, Angelou experienced racial discrimination and was tragically raped by her mother’s boyfriend, who her uncles eventually murdered for his crime, at the tender age of seven. Following the traumatic experience, Angelou became mute for a complete five years, where she ultimately developed a love for language. Thenceforth, the future author attended George Washington High School in San Francisco, California, where she received lessons in dance and drama at the California Labor School. While still attending high school, Angelou gave birth to her child, a son named Guy, in 1944, at the mere age of seventeen. After graduation, the new mom attended the University of Ghana, which led her to relocate to the countries of Ghana and Egypt while in Africa. Upon returning to the United States, the ambitious poet partook in temporary jobs of shake dancing, fry cooking, a mechanic

Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She rises through all things that come her way and she refuses to back down. Angelou chose at a very young age to be a writer and a role model for many people. She believes that everyone should be treated equally and that the world should come together as a unity. Angelou had many careers but is known mostly for her poetic creations. She has come a long way from where she started and I think anyone can agree with me when I say, she has made us all proud with her accomplishments. Angelou writes poetry to inform and encourage others to carry on through the worst of times. She is a strong, confident, inspirational woman and I am more than honored to be doing my senior paper on her.

Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928. Her real name is Marguerite Johnson, but she later changed it to Maya. She was born in St. Louis, shortly after her birth her family up and move to Arkansaw. Maya grew up there in the rural parts of Arkansaw, and later married to a South African Freedom Fighter. She lived in Cairo with him, there she began her career as editor of the Arab Observer.

Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928-May 28, 2014) was an American author, actress, screenwriter dancer and poet. She was known for her memoir, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings (bibography.com). “Her parents divorced when she was only three and she was sent with her brother Bailey to live with their grandmother in the small town of Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, the young girl experienced the racial discrimination that was the legally enforced way of life in the American

Maya Angelou, an American poet, at first grew up with the name Marguerite Annie Johnson. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. She was respected as a spokesperson for black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her deep suffeing as being one of Black women is the reason of her success as she said ''When we talk about racism, we have to see that we are not