Essay: Maya Angelou (singer, dancer, director)

Maya Angelou was an American singer, dancer and director. She was also an African American poet, a teacher, and a civil rights activist who has inspired many. She encountered many complications through her life but still managed to be one of today’s most inspiring woman.
Marguerite Annie Johnson – Maya Angelou- was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. At age 3, she moved to Stamps, Arkansas with her brother Bailey, and grandmother due to the divorce of her parents. As an African American in Arkansas, she suffered exposure to prejudice behavior and discrimination. At age 7, she encountered the worst thing a child could go through, sexual assault. At the time, she only trusted her brother, Bailey, and told him what had happened. He went on and told his family. Freeman (her abuser), however was found not guilty. When she discovered that her uncle executed the man who assaulted her, she felt as though it were her words that murdered him. She only spoke with her brother and no one else for five years, and got to appreciate and learn about the world surrounding her. In 1941, her brother and her reunited with their mother in San Francisco.
At age 13, she met Mrs.Flowers (a fine and educated woman in town), who got Maya to speak again. Mrs.Flowers also showed her the beauty of literature and showed her authors and poets like Edgar Allen Poe. Maya Angelou discovered the love of literature. She attended George Washington High School and studied dance and drama on a scholarship at San Francisco’s Labor School. Later, she dropped out of school and became San Francisco’s first African American woman cable car conductor. She returned to high school but became pregnant during senior year. She still managed to graduate high school and gave birth to her son, Guy, a few weeks later. Eventually, she left home at age 17 and went through a difficult time as a single mother. She worked as a waitress and a cook to support herself and her son. In 1952, she married Tosh Angelos, a Greek sailor. Although the marriage didn’t last long, she still took the name, Maya Angelou. Maya being the name her brother gave her and Angelou, a form of her ex-husband’s last name. After the divorce, she took off to New York City to study dance. As soon as two years, she toured in Europe as a member of Porgy and Bess, an opera production. In 1957, she recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. A year later, she expanded her writing skills and joined the Harlem Writers Guild, where she met James Baldwin and other famous writers. During this time, she heard of Dr.Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement, so she decided to join.
After this decision, she began to make life-changing events. Maya Angelou showed impressive work and was offered to be the northern coordinator for Dr.King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She assisted Dr.King until he was assassinated. The occurrence devastated her , and she stopped celebrating her birthday for a long time (as it was the same day as his). After working for Dr.King, she moved to Cairo with her son in 1960 to work as an editor of the English Language in an African article company. She later moved again, this time to Ghana in 1962. She worked as a featured editor at the African Review. Afterward, she returned to America and helped Malcolm X with his organization. During the years there, she was encouraged by James Baldwin to write an autobiography. Thus making I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
The memoir started with her childhood, a black girl in the south during the 1930s, and ended with the birth of her son in California in the 1940s. The story dealt with racism, trauma, rape and abandonment, but it also shows how courageous she was. The book was a huge success, and it was nominated for the National Book Award. One of her poetry book Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die, was also nominated. This time for the Pulitzer Prize. Another memorable book was , On the Pulse of Morning. Maya wrote it for Bill Clinton’s first inauguration as a president. The book was recited in his speech, and also won a Grammy Award for best spoken word album. Maya Angelou has published many other memoirs, poetry books, and autobiographies. Including Gather Together in My Name (memoir of being a single mother), Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry like Christmas (memoir of her tour in Porgy and Bess), The Heart of a Woman (her work at the civil rights movement, and her writing in general), All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (her travels in Africa and the reason on why she decided to go back to America without her son) , and A Song Flung up to Heaven (she began writing it around the time that she wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings which took her 15 years to write) about her work during the civil rights movement and most importantly , her work with Malcolm X.
Maya Angelou has received many other awards for her accomplishments. In 1976, she received the the Ladies’ Home Journal award. The following year she received the Golden Eagle award, and nine years later receives Distinguished Literature award. In 1991 she received the Langston Hughes Medal, and mentioned before, a Grammy for best spoken word album. In 1996, she received a MLK Legacy association National Award for her incredible work in the civil rights movement. In 2000, Bill Clinton awarded her the National Medal of Arts. And in 2006 she received the Mother Teresa Award, and becomes the first recipient for the Justice Voice of Peace award in 2008. By 2010, Maya Angelou was awarded with the highest civilian honor in the United States by Barack Obama, the Presidential Medal of Freedom award.
Maya Angelou continued to write another autobiographies but on May 28, 2014 a heroic woman took her last breath at the age of 86. She was found by her nurse in the morning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She left an unfinished autobiography, and had lost a battle with cancer. Many artists, world leaders, and presidents mourned her death. A member from the National Book Foundation said that her legacy was something people from around the world  “can admire and aspire to”. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings became the most bought book a week after her death. Many churches set out a ceremony for her death, and mourned. Michelle Obama, Guy, and Bill Clinton also gave out a speech in respect to Maya Angelou.
Although she’s no longer here , she has left a long lasting impression on today’s world.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was one of her legacy. Although it has been banned in many places around the United States for its sensitive content, it is still being  taught in many schools to have empathy on how the world was and to be grateful of what it is now. It also inspired many to speak up, and show that even through difficulties you may still achieve anything in life. Other legacies include her well written autobiographies that are also life changing to those who read it.
Separated from her mother, sexually abused by her mothers boyfriend and thinking that it was her fault he was killed while living in a time of racism ; she had still managed to be one of the most inspirational black woman in the world. She’s encountered so many obstacles in her life, and has gone through things that no child or adult would want to go through. Such a powerful woman who was strong enough to write and share her story that has inspired many. A powerful woman to help Dr. King’s civil rights movement, and a powerful woman that has received over 40 honorary degree awards.
Although she’s no longer here , she has left a long lasting impression around the world .