Many people know Maya Angelou for being an American poet, but she was much more than that. She was a memoirist, civil rights activist, author, dancer, actress, and screenwriter. Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. Angelou parents slip when she was very young, so she and her older brother were sent away to line with her father's mother. In Arkansas Angelou experienced her first racial prejudices and discrimination. She was raped by her mother's boyfriend during a visit with her mother. After the situation, she went back to Arkansas and went virtual mute. Angelou won a scholarship to study dance and acting at a school in San Francisco, California during World War II. She then became the first black female cable car conductor in San Francisco. …show more content…
Angelou recited one of her poems at President Bill Clinton's inaugural. That was the first inaugural recitation since 1961. Martin Luther King Jr. was a close friend of Maya Angelou. On April 4, 1968 MLK Jr. was assassinated and Angelou stopped celebrating her birthday and sent flowers to MLK wife. In 1969, Angelou biography "I know why the caged bird sings" is the first best seller by an African- American woman. Georgia, Georgia made Angelou the first African- American woman to have her screenplay produced. Angelou experienced health issues for years. Her body finally gave up on May 28, 2014 in Winston- Salem, North Carolina. As any other famous death, it spread across social media quickly. Many fans, supporters, and family mourned about her