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.