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 Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, is an
author, poet, historian, conductor, actor, singer, songwriter,
playwright, film director, and
civil rights activist. Born in a segregated rural area of St. Louis,
Arkansas, she comes from a broken home, was raped at eight, and was an
unwed mother at 16 years old. Throughout all these circumstances she
still managed to become San Francisco's first black woman conductor. She
was also the first black woman to have an original screenplay produced
in 1971, Georgia, Georgia. She has several volumes of poetry and
some of her composed music was recorded by B.B. King She was also
nominated for an Emmy Award for her acting in Roots and Georgia.
She is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti.
Ms.
Angelou began her career in drama and dance, and she married a South
African freedom fighter
and lived in Cairo. During her five years in Africa, she lived in Egypt
and became the editor of The Arab Observer, the only
English-language news weekly in the Middle East. Later she taught in
Ghana and was feature editor of The African Review. In the 1960's
she said that being black, female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall,
and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in
Africa. During this time she was also the northern coordinator for the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. She was appointed to the Bicentennial Commission by
President Gerald Ford and the National Commission on the Observance of
International Women's Year by Jimmy Carter. She has published ten best
selling books and countless magazine articles, and in 1993 she wrote and
delivered the presidential inauguration for President Bill Clinton.
 One
of Maya Angelou's books, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an
account of her youth, describes the trauma of being raped as a child,
the violent death of her attacker, and her subsequent refusal to speak
for five years. It has been the target of many censorship attacks. In
one case, Round Rock, Texas parents thought that the book was "pornographic"
and "just plain filth." The book was also filmed as a two hour
special for CBS. Currently, Ms. Angelou lectures throughout the United
States and abroad and recently has been named a Reynolds professor of
American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
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