Happy Birthday Maya Angelou

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” - Maya Angelou

(Maya Angelou)

Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Johnson was nicknamed “Maya” by her older brother. At 3 years old Johnson was sent with her siblings to live with their grandmother in Stamps, AR. At 7 years old she was brought with her siblings to live with their mother in St. Louis, MO. At 8 years old Johnson was sexually abused and raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was jailed for 1 day and 4 days later was killed by one of Johnson’s uncles. Her siblings and her were then brought back to Stamps, AR with their grandmother.

(Johnson as a child)

At 14 years old she moved with her mother in Oakland, CA. While in high school she worked as the first black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco, CA. At 17 years old she gave birth to her son Clyde Johnson. In 1951 she married Greek electrician, former sailor, and aspiring musician Tosh Angelos. With her new husband and son she moved to New York City, NY and she studied African Dance.

(Angelou as a dancer)

A year later they returned to San Francisco, CA. In 1954 she got a divorce. She danced professionally in clubs around San Francisco. She then changed her name to “Maya Angelou”. From 1954 to 1955 Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera “Porgy and Bess”. During the 1950’s Angelou became friends with James Baldwin.

(James Baldwin (Left) with Angelou (Right))

In 1957 Angelou released her 1st album “Miss Calypso”. In 1959 Angelou moved to New York City, NY to concentrate on her writing career. In 1960 Angelou met Dr. King and heard him speak. Angelou joined the SCLC and became its Northern Coordinator. Angelou also began her pro-Castro and anti-apartheid activism during this time. In 1961 Angelou performed in Jean Genet's play “The Blacks”. Also in 1961 Angelou and her son moved to Cairo, Egypt. Angelou then moved to Accra, Ghana. Angelou became an administrator at the University of Ghana. She became a freelance writer for the “Ghanaian Times”, wrote and broadcast for Radio Ghana, and worked and performed for Ghana's National Theatre. While in Accra Angelou became good friends with Malcolm X during his visit to Ghana.

(Malcolm X (Left) with Angelou (Right))

In 1965 Angelou returned to the U.S. After the death of Malcolm X, Angelou moved to Hawaii to work on her singing career, then moved to Los Angeles, CA to work on her writing career. She worked as a market researcher in Watts, CA and witnessed the riots in the summer of 1965. In 1967 she returned to New York City, NY. In 1968 Dr. King asked Angelou to organize a march but before they could organize King was killed on her 40th birthday. Angelou then wrote, produced, and narrated Blacks, Blues, Black!, a ten-part series of documentaries about the connection between blues music and black Americans' African heritage.

(Angelou hosting her documentary)

In 1969 Angelou wrote her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou’s movie Georgia,Georgia was released in 1972 and was the first screenplay written by a black woman. In 1973 Angelou married Welsh carpenter and ex-husband of Germaine Greer, Paul du Feu. Also in 1973 Angelou was nominated for a Tony Award. In 1977 Angelou appeared in a supporting role in the television miniseries Roots.

(Angelou in Roots)

During this period Angelou was given over thirty honorary degrees from colleges and universities from all over the world. In the late 1970’s Angelou met Oprah Winfrey before she became famous.

(Angelou being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey years after they first met)

In 1981 Angelou divorced. Also in 1981 Angelou accepted the lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. In 1993 Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton, becoming the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. The recording of the poem won a Grammy Award.

(Angelou speaking at President Clinton’s inauguration)

In 1995 she delivered her second public poem “A Brave and Startling Truth”. In 1996 Angelou directed the film Down in the Delta. Also in 1996 she collaborated with Ashford & Simpson.

(Ashford (Left) & Simpson (Center) with Angelou (Right))

In 2002 Angelou wrote her book A Song Flung Up to Heaven. In 2008 Angelou supported Hillary Clinton for president, later she supported Barack Obama.

(President Barack Obama (Top) with Angelou (Bottom))

In 2010 Angelou donated her personal papers and career memorabilia to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The last course Angelou taught at Wake Forest was in 2011. In 2013 Angelou published the book Mom & Me & Mom. On May 28th, 2014 Angelou passed away due to poor health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86 years old.

(Angelou’s funeral)

Today is her 89th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Maya Angelou.

Books by Maya Angelou

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)
• Gather Together in My Name (1974)
• Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976)
• The Heart of a Woman (1981)
• All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986)
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002)
• Mom & Me & Mom (2013)

Videos of Maya Angelou

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0  “And Still I Rise”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC_scsKVEHA  “"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - Conversations with Oprah: Maya Angelou, 1993 - OWN”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQQThtav41o  “Maya Angelou's Inaugural Poem (1993)”    
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZzOxWAxde0  “Maya Angelou's masterpiece "Caged Bird"”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yWGaLxVyac  “Dr. Maya Angelou in Roots!”