Maya Angelou An Influential Voices Of Modern Society Essay

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson on the 4th of April 1928, was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya Angelou is regarded as one of the most noteworthy, influential voices of modern society with over 50 doctorate degrees. She became a distinguished poet, educator, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, memoirist, and civil rights activist throughout her life. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, Stamps, Arkansas was the embodiment of brutality and racial discrimination in the South. Growing up as a minority in a majorly white, Christian area proved to be difficult for Maya who was constantly facing the oppressive actions and behaviours of others. When she was only 7 years old, Maya suffered a traumatic incident on a visit to her mother. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. Fuelled by anger, her uncles killed her rapist as vengeance. Maya then returned to Arkansas spending years living as a mute. When Maya was a teenager, her love fo r the arts was strong winning her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labour School. By the time she was 14, she dropped out and became the first African-American female cable car conductor in America. Later, she finished high school and soon after graduation gave birth to her son, Guy. Being a young single mother meant that her love of music, dance, and poetry had to be put aside to support herself and her son by working as a waitress and cook. By the mid 1950’s, Angelou’s artistic career tookShow MoreRelatedEssay On Maya Angelou1280 Words   |  6 PagesMaya Angelou, named at birth, Marguerite Johnson was on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her and her family moved from St. Louis to Stamps, Arkansas, where she was raised growing up. Maya Angelou was an American author, dancer, screenwriter, actress, poet and civil rights activist. Angelou gained a majority of her fame with the memoir she wrote in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird S ings. This memoir made literary history as being the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American womanRead More20 Century Genius Award Essay example3442 Words   |  14 PagesGenius Award to Dr. Maya Angelou. She is a remarkable Renaissance woman who is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, she continues to travel the world, spreading her legendary wisdom. Within the rhythm of her poetry and elegance of her prose lies Angelous unique power to help readers of every orientation span the lines of race and Angelou captivates audiencesRead MoreThe Invisible Woman: Female Directors in Hollywood2710 Words   |  11 Pagesin Hollywood are underrated, underrepresented, and generally shoved into the background of the film industry. However, with film becoming one of the most pervasive and influential art forms of the 21st century, womenâ €™s leadership in the film industry is vital not only to the feminist movement, but to the perception of the modern female overall. With the advent of the internet, digital media and film have become much more accessible forms of entertainment and education. According to the officialRead More Oprah Winfrey Essay3822 Words   |  16 Pagesextraordinarily well into Howard Gardners model of creativity. In fact, Oprah fits almost ideally in Gardners Portrait of the Exemplary Creator in chapter 10. I find the similarities rather surprising considering she is not a White, European male from the Modern era like most of Gardners examples. On the contrary, Oprah is a contemporary Black female who grew up in the segregated South during the 1950s. In choosing such a contemporary figure I realize that I run the risk of encountering deep divisions between