Maya Angelou's Accomplishments

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On April 4th, 1928, one of the world’s most acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer was born in St. Louis, Missouri.Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, Maya Angelou’s legacy as one of the most influential Arkansans of all time will still live on as her story is spread by English teachers, poetry organizations, civil rights activists, and all of her accomplishments in her many fields of expertise. Maya Angelou’s childhood was the epitome of godawful. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. As a young child, her parents split, which resulted in her moving to Stamps, Arkansas. While living in Stamps, Angelou suffered through a harsh childhood. As an African American living in Southwest Arkansas, she faced…show more content…
Calypso Heat Wave, and Angelou starred and organized Cabaret for Freedom as a benefit for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. At the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Poets.org). In 1961, Angelou was casted into an off-Broadway production of The Blacks, even though the play was getting rave reviews, Angelou was quickly moving onto other interest. She spent much of the 60’s living abroad in Egypt and Ghana working as an editor and a freelance writer. She was also a faculty member at the University of Ghana for a period of time. Once she returned to the states, an old friend approached her about writing about her personal life experiences. This encouragement resulted in the writing of the 1969 memoir, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, which was the first of her 6 autobiographies. (The Poetry Foundation) In 1952, Angelou married Ansatasios Angeloupulos, a Greek sailor. She took her professional name from her childhood nickname Maya and a shortened version of her newly wedded husband’s surname (Biography). One of her most famous poems, “On the Pulse of Morning” was written especially for the Presidential inauguration of former President, Bill Clinton. She won a Grammy Award for best spoken album from the recorded version of the poem. Angelou made her debut as a
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