Maya Angelou

Historical Being Black in America Maya Angelou, an African American essayist, extraordinarily performing artist, and an amazing writer, also arguably the best novelist ever lived, who was the component artist at President Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration, where she recited her poem On the Pulse of Morning ("Introduction"). Abundance influence and inspiration behind Maya Angelou's work has really solidifies her profile as one of the best African American writers of all time. She was an excellent teacher, who held positions at several Universities, including the university of California and university of Kansas. She also…

Maya Angelou gained a great amount of success for an African American woman who grew up in the 1930s and 40s. Her roots in the segregated south contributed towards her drive towards success. She was an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement, having worked alongside other influential people such as Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Along with her work in the Civil Rights Movement, Angelou was a published author with over 30 poems, essays, and books. (Academy of Achievement). As a…

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the autobiography of Maya Angelou, is filled with many experiences that shape and mold Maya Angelou into the literary powerhouse known today. The fact that Maya Angelou fearlessly wrote an autobiography she shows the audience that she has confidence in herself and that she likes to defeat social norms because autobiographies are known for being dreadfully boring. The autobiography also includes large uses of humor and the examples of human influences, for the…

“I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” You don’t become a hero just because of what you do, but from who you are. The extraordinary woman, Maya Angelou is a woman of many wise words and achievements. The phenomenal woman, that’s Mrs. Angelou, her achievements vary from her literary skills/awards, her commitment to making this world a better place and her bravery to speak out to be heard (Maya Angelou). She was best known for her book “I Know…

Literature has the power to let one voice be heard, or rather read, by the masses allowing for a message to be passed out to the audience. Maya Angelou’s autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” does exactly this, she highlights her experiences to protest racism to her audience. Throughout the text, the reader learns about Maya’s struggles as a black woman coming of age in a world of racism and sexism. Together these forces develop and reinforce her character and racial identity, but…

Angelou, Maya. Interview by Oprah Winfrey. OWN. N.d. Television. Maya Angelou was a full time professor at Wake Forest University, a bestselling author of many books, and was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She talks about how to stand up to racism with courage. She explains that it takes time and practice to gain courage. She strongly believes pejorative language is inacceptable and should not be tolerated because of the power of words. This is from an interview with Oprah Winfrey and…

Life is not fair and will never be fair. For the blacks living during the 1940s, the injustice was sent in the form of racial prejudice. A stigma that attaches itself to the person since birth, but not everyone realizes the labels attached to them, especially children. In the narrative “Graduation,” by Maya Angelou, the author narrates her graduation from her past naive and ignorant self into the Negro race by using imageries, juxtaposition, and similes. Throughout the narrative, Angelou uses…

The Success of Maya Angelou Marguerite Annie Johnson, born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri and died on May 28, 2014 at the soulful age of 86. Although we may know her as Maya Angelou, we can relate to her literary works in more ways than one. Her 1969 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. She received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding…

come across an individual who possesses multiple talents each of which have made an impact in their own unique way; one of these individuals was Maya Angelou. Although she is best known as a poet and novelist, Angelou made a name for herself in her young adulthood as a singer, dancer, and actress. Despite her various endeavors, one constant in Angelou’s life was her passion to fight against social injustice. Representative Nancy Pelosi, America’s first female House speaker said that Angelou was…

Maya Angelou was a poet, writer, actor, streetcar conductor, singer, dancer, cook, memoirist, educator, dramatist, civil rights activist and a teen mom. Where did it all start? It all started on a special day in April. Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 . Her birth name is Marguerite Annie Johnson. When she was three, her parents got divorced and she and her brother went to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. When Maya Angelou was seven, she was molested by her mother’s…