Maya angelou childhood

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Maya angelou born and died

A multitalented writer and performer, Maya Angelou is best known for her work as an author and poet. Angelou also enjoyed a career as a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor and singer in plays, musicals, and onscreen. She became the first Black woman to have a screenplay produced with the movie Georgia, Georgia. In her work as a civil rights activist , she collaborated with Martin Luther King Jr.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient died in May at age She had a difficult childhood. Her parents split up when she was very young, and she and her older brother, Bailey, were sent to live with their paternal grandmother, Anne Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas. As an African American, Angelou experienced firsthand racial prejudices and discrimination in Arkansas.

She also suffered violence at home when she was around the age of 7. As vengeance for the sexual assault, her uncles killed the boyfriend. Young Maya was so traumatized by the experience that she stopped talking. She returned to Arkansas and spent about five years as a virtual mute. A short-lived high school relationship resulted in Maya becoming pregnant.

She was 16 years old whens he delivered her son, Guy Johnson, in After giving birth, she worked a number of jobs to support herself and her child.