Maya Angelou: Poet and Civil Rights Activist

Many know about how amazing of a poet, author, and activist Maya Angelou was, but how many know her true story?

Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri to Bailey and Vivian Johnson. Three years later, her parents divorced and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. At the age of eight, she and her brother returned to live with their mother, where Angelou was raped and sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. After this information reached the rest of the family, Freeman, Angelou’s aggressor, was found guilty, but jailed for only one day. About four days later, he was murdered. Because of this, Angelou became mute for five years, later stating, “I thought my voice killed him; I killed that man because I told his name.” At the age of 12, a teacher named Mrs. Flowers finally got Angelou to speak again.

In the 1950s, Angelou attended the California Labor School where she soon branched off into writing books and poetry. Some of her most recognized poems are ‘Caged Bird’ and ‘Still I Rise.’ Her most famous book was published in 1970 and is entitled, ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,’ which was previously banned in schools for her detailed life experience(s) involving sexual assault. Now, the book is a course adoption for college campuses all over the world. Throughout her career, she received the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, three Grammy’s, and more.

Angelou passed away aged 86 in 2014. Her final recorded words were, "There are people who go through life burdened by ignorance because they refuse to see. When they do not recognize the truth that they belong to their community and their community belongs to them... it is because they refuse to see."

Photo from: Inc Magazine