Maya Angelou Research Paper

Marguerite Johnson, also known as Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis Missouri. At a time when being black in America was not such a good thing. Her parents named her Marguerite Johnson, but she got the name “Maya” from her older brother Bailey Johnson, it was just a nickname from him. She adopted the “ Angelou ” from her former husband. Maya has lived more than abnormal life. Angelou has explored the arts of dance, singing, theater, and movie and television acting. But most importantly, Maya Angelou is a well-known author and poet who writes about her experiences growing up and finding out how to love herself for who she was. Angelou lived a difficult life but her experiences are the reasons why she is such a great writer,
Maya Angelou was a Civil Rights activist. She worked closely with Malcolm X and served as the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959. She expressed her concern within the African-American communities all over the country. She worked hard to achieve equality for African-Americans. Other writers and spokespeople such as Oprah Winfrey, has written about her life and inspirations. Winfrey has often been influenced by Maya Angelou, as she expressed in her writings and on her famous network. Angelou has also influenced different artists from Tupac Shakur and Nicki Minaj to artist such as Kanye West. Many artists has taken Ms. Angelou’s poems and experts, and put them into their songs, movies, and television shows. Angelou has even featured on a rapper named Common, song about a journey to achieve the impossible. Many themes in most of Angelou’s books are universal themes of wisdom and all around love. Which is one reason people all around the world can enjoy and learn from her books. Maya is known to have inspired many women, black women in general. With her stories, she has been able to reach millions of people who have encountered her