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90-565: Maya Angelou ( / ˈ æ n dʒ ə l oʊ / AN -jə-loh ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson ; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist . She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why

180-688: A Greek electrician, former sailor, and aspiring musician, despite the condemnation of interracial relationships at the time and the disapproval of her mother. She took modern dance classes during this time and met dancers and choreographers Alvin Ailey and Ruth Beckford. Ailey and Angelou formed a dance team, calling themselves "Al and Rita", and performed modern dance at fraternal Black organizations throughout San Francisco but never became successful. Angelou, her new husband, and her son moved to New York City so she could study African dance with Trinidadian dancer Pearl Primus , but they returned to San Francisco

270-506: A bill of rights or similar document. They are also defined in international human rights instruments , such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Civil and political rights need not be codified to be protected. However, most democracies worldwide do have formal written guarantees of civil and political rights. Civil rights are considered to be natural rights . Thomas Jefferson wrote in his A Summary View of

360-515: A "lordly brownstone" in Harlem , which was purchased in 2004 and was full of her "growing library" of books she collected throughout her life, artwork collected over the span of many decades, and well-stocked kitchens. The Guardian writer Gary Younge reported that in Angelou's Harlem home were several African wall hangings and her collection of paintings, including ones of several jazz trumpeters,

450-595: A 1995 interview, Angelou said: I wrote about my experiences because I thought too many people tell young folks, "I never did anything wrong. Who, Moi? – never I. I have no skeletons in my closet. In fact, I have no closet." They lie like that and then young people find themselves in situations and they think, "Damn I must be a pretty bad guy. My mom or dad never did anything wrong." They can't forgive themselves and go on with their lives. Angelou had one son, Guy, whose birth she described in her first autobiography; one grandson, two great-grandchildren, and, according to Gillespie,

540-567: A Swedish film company and filmed in Sweden, was the first produced screenplay by a Black woman. She also wrote the film's soundtrack, despite having very little additional input in the filming of the movie. Angelou married Paul du Feu , a Welsh carpenter and ex-husband of writer Germaine Greer , in San Francisco in 1973. Over the next ten years, as Gillespie has stated, "She [Angelou] had accomplished more than many artists hope to achieve in

630-613: A day, which she edited down to three or four pages in the evening. She went through this process to "enchant" herself, and as she said in a 1989 interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation , "relive the agony, the anguish, the Sturm und Drang ". She placed herself back in the time she wrote about, even traumatic experiences such as her rape in Caged Bird , to "tell the human truth" about her life. She

720-572: A deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism , identity, family, and travel. Marguerite Annie Johnson was born in St. Louis , Missouri, on April 4, 1928, the second child of Bailey Johnson, a doorman and navy dietitian, and Vivian (née Baxter) Johnson, a nurse and card dealer . Angelou's older brother, Bailey Jr., nicknamed Marguerite "Maya", derived from "My" or "Mya Sister". When Angelou

810-605: A large group of friends and extended family. Angelou's mother Vivian Baxter died in 1991 and her brother Bailey Johnson Jr., died in 2000 after a series of strokes; both were important figures in her life and her books. In 1981, the mother of her grandson disappeared with him; finding him took four years. Angelou did not earn a university degree, but according to Gillespie it was Angelou's preference to be called "Dr. Angelou" by people outside of her family and close friends. She owned two homes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and

900-477: A lifetime." Angelou worked as a composer, writing for singer Roberta Flack , and composing movie scores. She wrote articles, short stories, TV scripts, documentaries, autobiographies, and poetry. She produced plays and was named a visiting professor at several colleges and universities. She was "a reluctant actor", and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1973 for her role in Jerome Kilty 's play Look Away . As

990-421: A relationship that's kind of famous among publishers." All my work, my life, everything I do is about survival, not just bare, awful, plodding survival, but survival with grace and faith. While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated. Maya Angelou Angelou's long and extensive career also included poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, and public speaking. She

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1080-538: A role. Implied or unenumerated rights are rights that courts may find to exist even though not expressly guaranteed by written law or custom; one example is the right to privacy in the United States , and the Ninth Amendment explicitly shows that other rights are also protected. The United States Declaration of Independence states that people have unalienable rights including "Life, Liberty, and

1170-668: A swimmer in the [English] Channel: you face the stingrays and waves and cold and grease, and finally you reach the other shore, and you put your foot on the ground—Aaaahhhh! Maya Angelou, 1989 Evidence suggests that Angelou was partially descended from the Mende people of West Africa. In 2008, a DNA test revealed that among all of her African ancestors, 45 percent were from the Congo -Angola region and 55 percent were from West Africa. A 2008 PBS documentary found that Angelou's maternal great-grandmother, Mary Lee, who had been emancipated after

1260-563: A theater director, in 1988 she undertook a revival of Errol John 's play Moon on a Rainbow Shawl at the Almeida Theatre in London. In 1977, Angelou appeared in a supporting role in the television mini-series Roots . She was given a multitude of awards during this period, including more than thirty honorary degrees from colleges and universities from all over the world. In the late 1970s, Angelou met Oprah Winfrey when Winfrey

1350-411: A total of seven autobiographies. According to scholar Mary Jane Lupton, Angelou's third autobiography Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas marked the first time a well-known African American autobiographer had written a third volume about her life. Her books "stretch over time and place", from Arkansas to Africa and back to the U.S., and take place from the beginnings of World War II to

1440-455: A watercolor of Rosa Parks , and a Faith Ringgold work entitled "Maya's Quilt Of Life". According to Gillespie, she hosted several celebrations per year at her main residence in Winston-Salem; "her skill in the kitchen is the stuff of legend—from haute cuisine to down-home comfort food". The Winston-Salem Journal stated: "Securing an invitation to one of Angelou's Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas tree decorating parties or birthday parties

1530-456: A year later. After Angelou's marriage ended in 1954, she danced professionally in clubs around San Francisco, including the nightclub The Purple Onion , where she sang and danced to calypso music . Up to that point, she went by the name of "Marguerite Johnson", or "Rita", but at the strong suggestion of her managers and supporters at The Purple Onion, she changed her professional name to "Maya Angelou" (her nickname and former married surname). It

1620-559: A year on the lecture circuit , something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem " On the Pulse of Morning " (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton , making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She

1710-519: Is a translation of Latin jus civis (right of the citizen). Roman citizens could be either free ( libertas ) or servile ( servitus ), but they all had rights in law. After the Edict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion; however, in 380, the Edict of Thessalonica required all subjects of the Roman Empire to profess Nicene Christianity. Roman legal doctrine was lost during

1800-510: Is a well-known non-profit organization that helps to preserve freedom of speech and works to change policy. Another organization is the NAACP , founded in 1909, which focuses on protecting the civil rights of minorities. The NRA is a civil rights group founded in 1871 that primarily focuses on protecting the right to bear arms. These organizations serve a variety of causes, one being the AFL–CIO , which

1890-402: Is that if individuals have fewer political rights than are they more likely to commit political violence such as in countries where individual rights are highly restricted. That is why it is important for countries to protect the political rights of all citizens including minority groups. This extends to racial, ethnic, tribal, and religious groups. By granting them the same rights it helps reduce

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1980-1032: The Civil War , became pregnant by her white former owner, John Savin. Savin forced Lee to sign a false statement accusing another man of being the father of her child. After Savin was indicted for forcing Lee to commit perjury, and despite the discovery that Savin was the father, a jury found him not guilty. Lee was sent to the Clinton County poorhouse in Missouri with her daughter, Marguerite Baxter, who became Angelou's grandmother. Angelou described Lee as "that poor little black girl, physically and mentally bruised." The details of Angelou's life described in her seven autobiographies and in numerous interviews, speeches, and articles tended to be inconsistent. Critic Mary Jane Lupton has explained that when Angelou spoke about her life, she did so eloquently, but informally, and "with no time chart in front of her." For example, she

2070-735: The Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential primaries , giving her public support to Hillary Clinton . In the run-up to the January Democratic primary in South Carolina , the Clinton campaign ran ads featuring Angelou's endorsement. The ads were part of the campaign's efforts to rally support in the Black community; but Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary, finishing 29 points ahead of Clinton and taking 80% of

2160-546: The English Bill of Rights in 1689. It was one of the influences drawn on by George Mason and James Madison when drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776. The Virginia declaration heavily influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights (1789). The removal by legislation of a civil right constitutes a "civil disability". In early 19th century Britain, the phrase "civil rights" most commonly referred to

2250-938: The Fair Play for Cuba Committee . She had joined the crowd cheering for Fidel Castro when he first entered the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , New York, during the United Nations 15th General Assembly on September 19, 1960. In 1961, Angelou performed in Jean Genet 's play The Blacks (playing the part of the Queen), along with Abbey Lincoln , Roscoe Lee Browne , James Earl Jones , Louis Gossett , Godfrey Cambridge , and Cicely Tyson . Also in 1961, she met South African freedom fighter Vusumzi Make ; they never officially married. She and her son Guy moved with Make to Cairo , where Angelou worked as an associate editor at

2340-730: The Organization of Afro-American Unity ; he was assassinated shortly afterward. Devastated and adrift, she joined her brother in Hawaii, where she resumed her singing career. She moved back to Los Angeles to focus on her writing career. Working as a market researcher in Watts , Angelou witnessed the riots in the summer of 1965. She acted in and wrote plays and returned to New York in 1967. She met her lifelong friend Rosa Guy and renewed her friendship with James Baldwin , whom she had met in Paris in

2430-703: The University of California , the University of Kansas , and the University of Ghana and was recognized as a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar and a Yale University Fellow. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem " On the Pulse of Morning " at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton , becoming the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy 's inauguration in 1961. Her recitation resulted in more fame and recognition for her previous works, and broadened her appeal "across racial, economic, and educational boundaries". The recording of

2520-477: The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In her fifth autobiography, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986), Angelou tells about her return to Ghana searching for the past of her tribe. She published her seventh autobiography Mom & Me & Mom in 2013, at the age of 85. Critics have tended to judge Angelou's subsequent autobiographies in light of the first, with Caged Bird receiving

2610-581: The decolonization of Africa . Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem , North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X . Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances

2700-596: The right to a fair trial , (in some countries) the right to keep and bear arms , freedom of religion , freedom from discrimination , and voting rights . They were pioneered in the seventeenth and eighteenth-century during the Age of Enlightenment . Political theories associated with the English, American, and French revolutions were codified in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 (a restatement of Rights of Englishmen , some dating back to Magna Carta in 1215) and more fully in

2790-427: The right to assemble , the right to petition , the right of self-defense , and the right to vote . These rights also must follow the legal norm as in they must have the force of law and fit into the system of administrative justice. A key feature in modern society is that the more a state can guarantee political rights of citizens the better the states relations are with its citizens. Civil and political rights form

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2880-489: The "Africanisms still current in the U.S." for National Educational Television , the precursor of PBS . Also in 1968, inspired at a dinner party she attended with Baldwin, cartoonist Jules Feiffer , and his wife Judy, and challenged by Random House editor Robert Loomis , she wrote her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , published in 1969. This brought her international recognition and acclaim. Released in 1972, Angelou's Georgia, Georgia , produced by

2970-462: The 1950s and called "my brother", during this time. Her friend Jerry Purcell provided Angelou with a stipend to support her writing. In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. asked Angelou to organize a march. She agreed, but postponed again, and in what Gillespie calls "a macabre twist of fate", he was assassinated on her 40th birthday (April 4). Devastated again, she was encouraged out of her depression by her friend James Baldwin. As Gillespie states, "If 1968

3060-527: The 1970s, less through its originality than "its resonance in the prevailing Zeitgeist ", or the time in which it was written, at the end of the American Civil Rights Movement . Als also claimed that Angelou's writings, more interested in self-revelation than in politics or feminism, have freed other female writers to "open themselves up without shame to the eyes of the world". Angelou critic Joanne M. Braxton stated that Caged Bird

3150-763: The Black vote. When Clinton's campaign ended, Angelou put her support behind Obama, who went on to win the presidential election and become the first African American president of the United States. After Obama's inauguration, she stated, "We are growing up beyond the idiocies of racism and sexism." In late 2010, Angelou donated her personal papers and career memorabilia to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem . They consisted of more than 340 boxes of documents that featured her handwritten notes on yellow legal pads for I Know Why

3240-453: The Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker , nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during

3330-513: The Caged Bird Sings , Angelou used the same "writing ritual" for many years. She would wake early in the morning and check into a hotel room, where the staff was instructed to remove any pictures from the walls. She would write on legal pads while lying on the bed, with only a bottle of sherry, a deck of cards to play solitaire , Roget's Thesaurus , and the Bible, and would leave by the early afternoon. She would average 10–12 pages of written material

3420-680: The Caged Bird Sings , a 1982 telegram from Coretta Scott King , fan mail, and personal and professional correspondence from colleagues such as her editor Robert Loomis. In 2011, Angelou served as a consultant for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. She spoke out in opposition to a paraphrase of a quotation by King that appeared on the memorial, saying, "The quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit", and demanded that it be changed. Eventually,

3510-914: The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 and the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. They were enshrined at the global level and given status in international law first by Articles 3 to 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . In Europe, they were enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953. There are current organizations that exist to protect people's civil and political rights in case they are infringed upon. The ACLU , founded in 1920,

3600-520: The Middle Ages, but claims of universal rights could still be made based on Christian doctrine. According to the leaders of Kett's Rebellion (1549), "all bond men may be made free, for God made all free with his precious blood-shedding." In the 17th century, English common law judge Sir Edward Coke revived the idea of rights based on citizenship by arguing that Englishmen had historically enjoyed such rights . The Parliament of England adopted

3690-502: The Rights of British America that "a free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate ." The question of to whom civil and political rights apply is a subject of controversy. Although in many countries citizens are considered to have greater protections against infringement of rights than non-citizens, civil and political rights are generally considered to be universal rights that apply to all persons . One thing to mention

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3780-652: The United States gathered steam by 1848 with such documents as the Declaration of Sentiment. Consciously modeled after the Declaration of Independence , the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments became the founding document of the American women's movement, and it was adopted at the Seneca Falls Convention, July 19 and 20, 1848. Worldwide, several political movements for equality before

3870-435: The area include Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld , and Jean Edward Smith . First-generation rights, often called "blue" rights, deal essentially with liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature, as well as strongly individualistic : They serve negatively to protect the individual from excesses of the state. First-generation rights include, among other things, freedom of speech ,

3960-420: The bathroom of his choice is a well known case in these civil right fights. Another issue in civil rights has been the issue with police brutality in certain communities especially minority communities. This has been seen as another way for minority groups to be oppressed and their rights infringed upon. Outrage has also been a massive result of incidents caught on tape of police abusing and in some cases causing

4050-463: The deaths of people from minority groups such as African Americans. That is why to address the issue has been accountability to police engaging in such conduct as a way to deter other officers from committing similar actions. T. H. Marshall notes that civil rights were among the first to be recognized and codified, followed later by political rights and still later by social rights. In many countries, they are constitutional rights and are included in

4140-600: The eleven tracks of their album Been Found . The album was responsible for three of Angelou's only Billboard chart appearances. In 2000, she created a successful collection of products for Hallmark , including greeting cards and decorative household items. She responded to critics who charged her with being too commercial by stating that "the enterprise was perfectly in keeping with her role as 'the people's poet ' ". More than thirty years after Angelou began writing her life story, she completed her sixth autobiography A Song Flung Up to Heaven , in 2002. Angelou campaigned for

4230-502: The government intervene to protect individuals from infringement on their rights by other individuals , or from corporations —e.g., in what way should employment discrimination in the private sector be dealt with? Political theory deals with civil and political rights. Robert Nozick and John Rawls expressed competing visions in Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia and Rawls' A Theory of Justice . Other influential authors in

4320-412: The highest praise. Angelou wrote five collections of essays, which writer Hilton Als called her "wisdom books" and "homilies strung together with autobiographical texts". Angelou used the same editor throughout her writing career, Robert Loomis , an executive editor at Random House ; he retired in 2011 and has been called "one of publishing's hall of fame editors." Angelou said regarding Loomis: "We have

4410-552: The issue of such legal discrimination against Catholics. In the House of Commons , support for civil rights was divided, with many politicians agreeing with the existing civil disabilities of Catholics. The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 restored their civil rights. In the United States, the term civil rights has been associated with the civil rights movement (1954–1968), which fought against racism. The movement also fought segregation and Jim Crow laws and this fight took place in

4500-503: The last ten years of her life. He said, "She left this mortal plane with no loss of acuity and no loss in comprehension." Tributes to Angelou and condolences were paid by artists, entertainers, and world leaders, including President Obama, whose sister was named after Angelou, and Bill Clinton. Harold Augenbraum , from the National Book Foundation , said that Angelou's "legacy is one that all writers and readers across

4590-424: The law occurred between approximately 1950 and 1980. These movements had a legal and constitutional aspect, and resulted in much law-making at both national and international levels. They also had an activist side, particularly in situations where violations of rights were widespread. Movements with the proclaimed aim of securing observance of civil and political rights included: Most civil rights movements relied on

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4680-463: The original and main part of international human rights . They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights . The phrase "civil rights"

4770-647: The paraphrase was removed. In 2013, at the age of 85, Angelou published the seventh volume of autobiography in her series, entitled Mom & Me & Mom , which focuses on her relationship with her mother. I make writing as much a part of my life as I do eating or listening to music. Maya Angelou, 1999 I also wear a hat or a very tightly pulled head tie when I write. I suppose I hope by doing that I will keep my brains from seeping out of my scalp and running in great gray blobs down my neck, into my ears, and over my face. Maya Angelou, 1984 Nothing so frightens me as writing, but nothing so satisfies me. It's like

4860-430: The period". Writer Julian Mayfield, who called Caged Bird "a work of art that eludes description", argued that Angelou's autobiographies set a precedent for not only other Black women writers, but also African American autobiography as a whole. Als said that Caged Bird marked one of the first times that a Black autobiographer could, as he put it, "write about blackness from the inside, without apology or defense". Through

4950-515: The poem won a Grammy Award . In June 1995, she delivered what Richard Long called her "second 'public' poem", entitled " A Brave and Startling Truth ", which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. Angelou achieved her goal of directing a feature film in 1996, Down in the Delta , which featured actors such as Alfre Woodard and Wesley Snipes . Also in 1996, she collaborated with R&B artists Ashford & Simpson on seven of

5040-412: The point that they were unable to present themselves as central characters in the literature they wrote. Linguist John McWhorter agreed, seeing Angelou's works, which he called "tracts", as "apologetic writing". He placed Angelou in the tradition of African American literature as a defense of Black culture, which he called "a literary manifestation of the imperative that reigned in the black scholarship of

5130-550: The position, but warned her that she would need to arrive early and work harder than others. In 2014, Angelou received a lifetime achievement award from the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials as part of a session billed "Women Who Move the Nation". Three weeks after completing school, at the age of 17, she gave birth to her son, Clyde (who later changed his name to Guy Johnson). In 1951, Angelou married Tosh Angelos,

5220-454: The publication of Angelou's third book of essays, Letter to My Daughter (2008), has said, "For the last couple of decades she has merged her various talents into a kind of performance art—issuing a message of personal and social uplift by blending poetry, song and conversation." Civil rights activist Civil rights generally include ensuring peoples' physical and mental integrity, life , and safety , protection from discrimination ,

5310-653: The pursuit of Happiness". It is considered by some that the sole purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty , and property. Some thinkers have argued that the concepts of self-ownership and cognitive liberty affirm rights to choose the food one eats, the medicine one takes , and the habit one indulges . Civil rights guarantee equal protection under the law. When civil and political rights are not guaranteed to all as part of equal protection of laws , or when such guarantees exist on paper but are not respected in practice, opposition, legal action and even social unrest may ensue. Civil rights movements in

5400-421: The right to privacy , the freedom of thought , speech , religion , press , assembly , and movement . Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law , such as the rights of the accused , including the right to a fair trial ; due process ; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy ; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association ,

5490-472: The risk of political violence breaking out. According to political scientist Salvador Santino F. Regilme Jr., analyzing the causes of and lack of protection from human rights abuses in the Global South should be focusing on the interactions of domestic and international factors—an important perspective that has usually been systematically neglected in the social science literature. Custom also plays

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5580-817: The streets, in public places, in government, and in the courts including the Supreme Court. The civil rights movement was also not the only movement fighting for civil rights as The Black Panthers were also a group focused on fighting racism and Jim Crow. Other things that civil rights have been associated with are not just race but also rights of Transgender and other LGBTQ individuals. These have been fights over sexuality instead of race and focused around whether these individuals may access certain spaces like bathrooms according to their sexual identity or biological sex. Gavin Grimm's fight in Virginia over whether he could use

5670-560: The technique of civil resistance , using nonviolent methods to achieve their aims. In some countries, struggles for civil rights were accompanied, or followed, by civil unrest and even armed rebellion. While civil rights movements over the last sixty years have resulted in an extension of civil and political rights, the process was long and tenuous in many countries, and many of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. Questions about civil and political rights have frequently emerged. For example, to what extent should

5760-560: The television mini-series Roots in 1977. Her screenplay, Georgia, Georgia (1972), was the first original script by a Black woman to be produced, and she was the first African American woman to direct a major motion picture, Down in the Delta , in 1998. When I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published in 1969, Angelou was hailed as a new kind of memoirist, one of the first African American women who were able to publicly discuss their personal lives. According to scholar Hilton Als, up to that point, Black female writers were marginalized to

5850-553: The week after Angelou's recitation. Random House , which published the poem later that year, had to reprint 400,000 copies of all her books to keep up with the demand. They sold more of her books in January 1993 than they did in all of 1992, accounting for a 1,200% increase. Angelou famously said, in response to criticism regarding using the details of her life in her work, "I agree with Balzac and 19th-century writers, black and white, who say, 'I write for money'." Younge, speaking after

5940-551: The weekly English-language newspaper The Arab Observer . In 1962, her relationship with Make ended, and she and Guy moved to Accra, Ghana , so he could attend college, but he was seriously injured in an automobile accident. Angelou remained in Accra for his recovery and ended up staying there until 1965. She became an administrator at the University of Ghana and was active in the African American expatriate community. She

6030-441: The world can admire and aspire to." The week after Angelou's death, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings rose to number 1 on Amazon.com 's bestseller list. On May 29, 2014, Mount Zion Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, of which Angelou was a member for 30 years, held a public memorial service to honor her. On June 7, a private memorial service was held at Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. The memorial

6120-453: The writing of her autobiography, Angelou became recognized and highly respected as a spokesperson for Blacks and women. It made her "without a doubt, ... America's most visible black woman autobiographer", and "a major autobiographical voice of the time". As writer Gary Younge said, "Probably more than almost any other writer alive, Angelou's life literally is her work." Als said that Caged Bird helped increase Black feminist writings in

6210-418: Was "perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing" autobiography written by an African American woman in its era. Angelou's poetry has influenced the modern hip-hop music community, including artists such as Kanye West , Common , Tupac Shakur , and Nicki Minaj . Reviewer Elsie B. Washington called Angelou "the black woman's poet laureate". Sales of the paperback version of her books and poetry rose by 300–600%

6300-663: Was 14 and her brother 15, she and her brother moved in once again with their mother, who had since moved to Oakland , California. During World War II, Angelou attended the California Labor School . At the age of 16, she became the first Black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco. She wanted the job badly, admiring the uniforms of the operators, describing the women in uniform as having “their little money-changing belts and with bibs on their caps and well-fitted uniforms” —so much so that her mother referred to it as her "dream job". Her mother encouraged her to pursue

6390-496: Was a TV anchor in Baltimore, Maryland; Angelou would later become Winfrey's close friend and mentor. In 1981, Angelou and du Feu divorced. She returned to the southern United States in 1981 because she felt she had to come to terms with her past there and, despite having no bachelor's degree, accepted the lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina , where she

6480-443: Was a "distinctive name" that set her apart and captured the feel of her calypso dance performances. During 1954 and 1955, Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess . She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited, and in a few years she gained proficiency in several languages. In 1957, riding on the popularity of calypso, Angelou recorded her first album, Miss Calypso , which

6570-543: Was a feature editor for The African Review , a freelance writer for the Ghanaian Times , wrote and broadcast for Radio Ghana, and worked and performed for Ghana's National Theatre. She performed in a revival of The Blacks in Geneva and Berlin. In Accra, she became close friends with Malcolm X during his visit in the early 1960s. Angelou returned to the U.S. in 1965 to help him build a new civil rights organization,

6660-466: Was a prolific writer of poetry; her volume Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize , and she was chosen by U.S. president Bill Clinton to recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" during his inauguration in 1993. Angelou's successful acting career included roles in numerous plays, films, and television programs, among them her appearance in

6750-400: Was a year of great pain, loss, and sadness, it was also the year when America first witnessed the breadth and depth of Maya Angelou's spirit and creative genius". Despite having almost no experience, she wrote, produced, and narrated Blacks, Blues, Black! , a ten-part series of documentaries about the connection between blues music and Black Americans' African heritage, and what Angelou called

6840-641: Was alive and well in St. Louis, which resulted in rumors of her death and, according to Angelou, concern among her friends and family worldwide. Angelou died on the morning of May 28, 2014, at age 86. Although Angelou had been in poor health and had canceled recent scheduled appearances, she was working on another book, an autobiography about her experiences with national and world leaders. During her memorial service at Wake Forest University, her son Guy Johnson stated that despite being in constant pain due to her dancing career and respiratory failure, she wrote four books during

6930-657: Was among the most coveted invitations in town." The New York Times , describing Angelou's residence history in New York City, stated that she regularly hosted elaborate New Year's Day parties. She combined her cooking and writing skills in her 2004 book Hallelujah! The Welcome Table , which featured 73 recipes, many of which she learned from her grandmother and mother, accompanied by 28 vignettes. She followed up in 2010 with her second cookbook, Great Food, All Day Long : Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart , which focused on weight loss and portion control. Beginning with I Know Why

7020-454: Was during this period of silence when Angelou developed her extraordinary memory, her love for books and literature, and her ability to listen and observe the world around her. To know her life story is to simultaneously wonder what on earth you have been doing with your own life and feel glad that you didn't have to go through half the things she has. The Guardian writer Gary Younge , 2009 Shortly after Freeman's murder, when Angelou

7110-802: Was eight and her brother nine, Angelou and her brother were sent back to their grandmother. She attended the Lafayette County Training School , in Stamps, a Rosenwald School . Angelou credits a teacher and friend of her family, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, with helping her speak again, challenging her by saying: "You do not love poetry, not until you speak it." Flowers introduced her to Charles Dickens , William Shakespeare , Edgar Allan Poe , Georgia Douglas Johnson , and James Weldon Johnson , authors who would affect Angelou's life and career, as well as Black female artists such as Frances Harper , Anne Spencer , and Jessie Fauset . When Angelou

7200-565: Was married at least twice, but never clarified the number of times she had been married, "for fear of sounding frivolous." According to her autobiographies and to Gillespie, she married Tosh Angelos in 1951, and Paul du Feu in 1974, and began her relationship with Vusumzi Make in 1961, but never formally married him. Angelou held many jobs, including some in the sex trade working as a prostitute and madam for lesbians, and describes so in her second autobiography, Gather Together in My Name . In

7290-426: Was more of a celebrity than an intellect ... [and] an overpaid figurehead". The last course she taught at Wake Forest was in 2011, but she was planning to teach another course in late 2014. Her final speaking engagement at the university was in late 2013. Beginning in the 1990s, Angelou actively participated in the lecture circuit in a customized tour bus, something she continued into her eighties. She also taught at

7380-399: Was murdered, probably by Angelou's uncles. Angelou became mute for almost five years, believing she was to blame for his death; as she stated: "I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone." According to Marcia Ann Gillespie and her colleagues, who wrote a biography about Angelou, it

7470-426: Was one of a few full-time African American professors. From that point on, she considered herself "a teacher who writes". Angelou taught a variety of subjects that reflected her interests, including philosophy, ethics, theology, science, theater, and writing. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that even though she made many friends on campus, "she never quite lived down all of the criticism from people who thought she

7560-638: Was published for the first time. In 1960, after meeting civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and hearing him speak, she and Killens organized "the legendary" Cabaret for Freedom to benefit the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and she was named SCLC's Northern Coordinator. According to scholar Lyman B. Hagen, her contributions to civil rights as a fundraiser and SCLC organizer were successful and "eminently effective". Angelou also began her pro-Castro and anti-apartheid activism during this time, joining

7650-555: Was quoted as saying: "The way I deal with any pain is to admit it – let it come." Angelou stated that she played cards to get to that place of enchantment and to access her memories more effectively. She said, "It may take an hour to get into it, but once I'm in it—ha! It's so delicious!" She did not find the process cathartic; rather, she found relief in "telling the truth". In 2009, the gossip website TMZ erroneously reported that Angelou had been hospitalized in Los Angeles when she

7740-559: Was reissued as a CD in 1996. She appeared in an off-Broadway review that inspired the 1957 film Calypso Heat Wave , in which Angelou sang and performed her own compositions. Angelou met novelist John Oliver Killens in 1959 and, at his urging, moved to New York to concentrate on her writing career. She joined the Harlem Writers Guild , where she met several major African American authors, including John Henrik Clarke , Rosa Guy , Paule Marshall , and Julian Mayfield , and

7830-407: Was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction , but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made

7920-426: Was seven and her brother eight, the children's father "came to Stamps without warning" and returned them to their mother's care in St. Louis. At the age of eight, while living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, a man named Freeman. She told her brother, who told the rest of their family. Freeman was found guilty but was jailed for only one day. Four days after his release, he

8010-473: Was shown live on local stations in the Winston-Salem/Triad area and streamed live on the university web site with speeches from her son, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama , and Bill Clinton. On June 15, a memorial was held at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, where Angelou was a member for many years. Rev. Cecil Williams , Mayor Ed Lee , and former mayor Willie Brown spoke. Angelou wrote

8100-604: Was three and her brother four, their parents' "calamitous marriage" ended, and their father sent them to Stamps , Arkansas, alone by train, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. In "an astonishing exception" to the harsh economics of African Americans of the time, Angelou's grandmother prospered financially during the Great Depression and World War II , because the general store she owned sold basic and needed commodities and because "she made wise and honest investments". Four years later, when Angelou

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