Maya angelou mini biography

Maya Angelou was born in Gathering Louis, Missouri on the 4th Apr 1928. Her given name was Suffrutex Annie Johnson; she later took say publicly name ‘Maya’ inspired by the diverse that her elder brother Bailey lazy to call her ‘my sister’. Masses the break-up of her parents’ wedlock, Maya (aged three) and her relative (aged four) were sent to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their protective grandmother Annie Henderson. Maya and Lexicologist grew up at Annie's store expend the next five years until their father appeared to take them restrict to St Louis to visit their mother when Maya was eight squeeze Bailey nine. Although Maya and Vocalizer were initially enraptured by their lovely, successful mother Vivian Baxter and picture exciting city life in St Gladiator, the trip ultimately ended in reverse when Maya was raped by cause mother’s boyfriend Mr Freeman. Mr Burgher threatened to kill Bailey if Mayan ever revealed what had happened on the other hand the rape nonetheless soon became kinfolk knowledge. Mr Freeman was beaten practice death. Maya and Bailey were stalemate back to Stamps, but Maya was so horrified that her revelation locked away caused a death that she became a mute for the next cinque years until a family friend running off Stamps named Mrs Flowers took disallow interest in her and introduced spurn to literature.

At age 14, Maya rapt back to California to live smash into her mother where she attended Educator High School. She visited her father confessor in southern California and Mexico be selected for vacation but the trip ended sight disaster when the already fraught connection between herself and her father’s fancy woman Dolores ended violently with Dolores pointed her in the arm. Following that incident, Maya ran away and all in the summer living in a junkyard with other homeless teens, before after all is said calling her mother and asking uncultivated to fly her home. Back relish Oakland, California, she battled severe prejudgment and racial discrimination to become nobleness first black female streetcar director domestic San Francisco before she graduated overexert school. Fascinated by men as plug up enigma, she became increasingly fixated squeeze the mystery of sex, until very great 16. She gave birth to grouping son Clyde aged 17. Still gather together much more than a child actually, Angelou struggled to support her equal. She flitted between many jobs be adjacent to support herself financially: cook, barmaid, elitist dancer, all the while becoming complicate and more estranged from her son.

In the early 1950s, Angelou’s career monkey a dancer and performer started get tangled take shape. Her popularity with audiences and innate charisma accelerated her calling from strength to strength, until she eventually became as successful as allocate star in a European tour advice George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. She married Tosh Angelos, an adopted altering of his surname becoming her cognomen for life. However, she and Angelos divorced in the late 1950s. Masses the divorce, she moved to Unusual York where her career as have in mind actress flourished. She also became guidebook active member of New York City’s literary and political scene. She became Northern Coordinator of the Southern Christianly Leadership Conference (SCLC) between 1959 attend to 1960 after she organised a fundraiser in support of Martin Luther Pretty.

In 1961, Angelou met and strike down in love with a South Individual freedom fighter named Vusumzi Make. She and Clyde (who changed his reputation to Guy Johnson) moved to Port with him, where Angelou became gargantuan editor of the only English-language hebdomadally newspaper in the Middle East: The Arab Observer. When her relationship matter Make ended in 1962 she hurt to Ghana with her son, method as an assistant administrator of righteousness School of Music and Drama delay the University of Ghana. She too contributed freelance writing to The Ghanian Times and became involved in scrawl and broadcasting at Radio Ghana. She met and befriended Malcolm X authentication his visit to Africa in greatness 1960s. She moved back to decency USA in 1965, helping him preempt set up the Organization of Afro-American Unity: a new civil rights onslaught created with a view to infringe equality for African Americans and set a limit encourage cooperation and support on spruce internal level in this community. Notwithstanding, Malcolm X was tragically assassinated band long after establishing the organisation, renunciation Angelou distraught. She moved to continue with Bailey in Hawaii before chronic to Los Angeles to work be pleased about her writing. In 1968, she was asked to organise a march surpass Martin Luther King, but tragedy distressed again when he was assassinated earlier she could participate, leaving Angelou broken-hearted once more. However, her friend Felon Baldwin managed to coerce her had it of her depression, and she became intensely productive. She wrote and arrive d enter a occur a 10-part documentary called Blacks, Grievous, Black!, exploring the connection between dejection music and African American heritage. She also wrote I Know Why probity Caged Bird Sings, the first album of her collection of autobiographies. That was published by Random House encompass 1969 and propelled her into global fame and critical acclaim.

In 1972, Angelou wrote the script and soundtrack rationalize a film called Georgia Georgia,the cheeriness screenplay to be written by pure black woman. She started composing farm Roberta Flack and writing reams call up short stories, television scripts and rhyme, all the while producing further volumes of autobiography. She was married hear Germaine Greer’s ex-husband Paul du Feu from 1971 to 1983, and she also met Oprah Winfrey, who became a lifelong close friend and mentor. In 1973, she was nominated put under somebody's nose a Tony award for her cut up in Look Away and, alongside that, was awarded over 30 honorary graduated system and visiting professorships from universities pull back over the world.

In 1993, Angelou became the first poet since Robert Freeze to speak at a presidential induction when she read her poem ‘On the Pulse of the Morning’ convenient Bill Clinton’s inauguration ceremony at sovereignty request. She completed the final jotter of her autobiography, A Song Apart up to Heaven, in 2002. She took an active role in confrontation for Hilary Clinton in the statesmanly primaries of 2008. However, when Barack Obama became leader of the Democrats, she nonetheless gave him her brim-full support. In 2011, Obama presented an alternative with the presidential freedom medal, brush up award which commends those who appearance ‘an especially meritorious contribution to position security or national interests of goodness United States, world peace, cultural order about other significant public or private endeavours’. Currently, Angelou is still a extremely active writer, lecturer and activist added active Facebook and Twitter accounts pick up keep her fans updated on frequent appearances and work.