Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her early life. She also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and served as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent African American advocacy organization In 1950, African American writers in New York City formed the Harlem Writers Guild to nurture and support the publication of Black authors. In the 1950s, she performed professionally in the US, Europe, and northern Africa, and sold albums of her recordings. She adopted a form of his surname and kept it throughout her life, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.Īngelou was also noted for her talents as a singer and dancer, particularly in the calypso and cabaret styles. In 1949, she married Tosh Angelos, an electrician in the US Navy.
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She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.Īfter graduation, Angelou undertook a series of odd jobs to support herself and her son. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties.
When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women’s Army Corps.
She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School. Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. When she returned to Arkansas, she took an interest in poetry and memorized works by Shakespeare and Poe. Throughout her childhood, she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. During her mutism and into her teens, she again lived with her grandmother in Arkansas.Īngelou’s interest in the written word and the English language was evident from an early age. Believing that her confession of the trauma had a hand in the man’s death, Angelou became mute for six years. He was later jailed and then killed when released from jail.
Returning to her mother’s care briefly at the age of seven, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. Her older brother, Bailey, gave Angelou her nickname “Maya.” Due to her parents’ tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, Angelou went to live with her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas at an early age. On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style. Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author.
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