maya angelou
Maya Angelou is an unprecedented renaissance woman who is recognized as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. She is an educator, historian, multi-lingual, mother, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer, director, and is best known for her works of poetry and her best-selling series of autobiographies. She was born into a decade where discrimination and segregation ruled and where African-Americans were the target of all of this devastation. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, but she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. Her achievements are endless and incomparable. Born Marguerite Johnson in Saint Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928 to Bailey and Vivian Baxter Johnson, Angelou acquired the name Maya from her revered brother Bailey Jr.. When their parent's marriage ended in divorce, the young Maya and Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. While growing up, Maya encountered numerous obstacles and many prejudices toward her, not only because she was black, but also for being a woman. At a tender age, she was raped by a friend of her mothers. That one event in her life effected her tremendously. For some period, she w
Angelou's work has broken many barriers for the black writers, entertainers, and directors. She has been a woman of firsts among the African American women. Angelou was the ground breaker for many black women in script writing and directing. In 1971, she became the first black woman to have an original screenplay produced. She was not only the first African-American, but also the first woman to read her work at a presidential inauguration. In her series of autobiographical books, she describes the racist and sexual pressures put on black women during the time when she was a young girl. This helped people become aware of what was going on during this time period. In addition to all of this, she was also San Francisco's first black woman conductor. Maya now spends her time informing others about her knowledge of prejudices, and teaches students to stand She has also acted in many plays and movies including Porgy and Bess (1954-55), The Blacks and Cabaret for Freedom (1960), Look Away (1973), Roots, and Poetic Justice. A role in a production of Porgy and Bess gave Maya the chance to travel internationally. In 1957, she appeared in an Off-Broadway play Calypso Heatwave. She would soon start a singing career by recording a song entitled "Miss Calypso" for Liberty Records. ... You may shoot me with your words
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Approximate Word count = 1651
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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