Maya
Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson) has been called a global
renaissance woman for her diverse contributions as a civil rights
activist, poet, novelist, memoirist, playwright, educator, director,
actress, dancer, songwriter, singer, and historian. She was one
of the most influential voices of our time for women and African
Americans. Maya Angelou's artistic pursuits began in the 1950s
when she wrote and performed in off-Broadway plays and European
tours, danced with the famous Alvin Ailey modern dance company,
and recorded an album. In the early 1960s she lived in several
African countries, teaching, and writing and editing newspapers.
Then she became active in the civil rights movement and worked
with both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1970 her
first book, a memoir entitled, I know Why The Caged Bird Sings,
was published and was a tremendous international success. Since
then she wrote more than 30 best-selling books of poetry, fiction
and non-fiction, including five memoirs. Maya Angelou was also
been active in television and film as a screen writer, actress,
producer and director. She was the first black woman director
in Hollywood and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for the 1972
film Georgia, Georgia, for which she wrote the screenplay
and composed the score. It was the first screenplay by an African
American woman ever to have been filmed. Her works also garnered
Emmy and Tony nominations as well as three Grammy Awards. In 1981,
Maya Angelou began teaching at Wake Forest University in Winston
Salem, and starting in the 1990s began a rigorous schedule on
the lecture circuit, making up to 80 appearances a year. President
Bill Clinton asked Maya Angelou to write a poem to recite at his
inauguration in 1993. Maya Angelou inspire the best in humanity,
and received many awards and accolades including the 2011 Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
