...Maya Angelou's Early Life Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. Maya and her brother, Bailey, moved to live with their grandmother after the divorce of their parents. The move to Stamps, Arkansas forced Maya to encounter much racism. Despite prevalent racism in town, Maya's grandmother always made sure to teach Maya and her brother strong values. At the age of eight, Maya's mother, Vivian, took the children back to live with her in St. Louis. Shortly after the move, Maya was raped by her mother's live-in boyfriend. This traumatic event caused Maya to become mute for a period of time afterward and withdraw from family and friends. It also created a major rift between Maya and Vivian. At thirteen, Maya moved to San Francisco where she attended George Washington High School and received a scholarship to the California Labor School for dance and drama classes. Maya was one of the only black students in her school and found life in San Francisco intriguing and liberating. Maya's Young Adult Life She became pregnant with her son, Clyde, at age seventeen. Maya had just earned her high school diploma and her dreams of attending college were fleeting. Instead, she took various waitressing and cooking jobs and was even the madam of a brothel. Maya yearned for stardom in her young adult years, but her dancing career did not take off. Soon, Maya figured out that she needed to find a way...
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...reading Maya Angelou's peom "And Still I Rise" and then watching her read it. Maya Angelou was born April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou was raised in St. louis, MO and also Stamps Arkansas where she had to exsperience racial discrimination that was common during this time. Maya Angelou is one of the most influential voices of our times. She is a global renaissance woman. When I read Maya Angelou's poem it touched me in a very deep way. As I read the poem the meaning that I got from it was that she was speaking of a woman that had to exspreience hard time and was maybe put through some difficult situations. However through it all she did not let it hold her back or cause her to be a negative and bitter person. Maya Angelou's words are very inspirational. I also watched Maya Angelou read the poeam "And I Still Rise". Listening to her read it really changed it a lot it seemed as if the poem was much more deep and meaningful. The words and still I rise was much more powerful when I listened to her read the poem. I believe that people enjoyed reading and listening to Maya Angelou because she spoke so deeply and knowledable. She was a very smart woman who's poems reached all audiences. Her poems are very clear in words which meant they are easyly understood. Maya Angelou exprenced a lot as a child and young adult she had to deal with the rasicism the followed during her early years and even being raped by her mothers boyfriend. I believe that Maya Angelou wrote her...
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...Maya Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya had a rough childhood. Her parents split when she was young and she went to live with her grandma in Stamps, Arkansas. Angelou experienced a lot of racial discrimination in Arkansas. While visiting with her mother, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. Later on, Maya’s uncle killed her mothers boyfriend. She was very traumatized by the experience and soon after Maya stopped talking. She returned to Arkansas and spent years as a mute. She was in a short high school relationship and it led to pregnancy. When she was 16, Maya gave birth to girl son, Guy Johnson.(“Maya Angelou”) During the war, Angelou moved to San Francisco, California. She had won a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labor School. While in California, Angelou became the first black female cable car conductor. After giving birth to her son, she worked at many jobs to support herself and her child. Although she worked many jobs, her passion was writing. She was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist. Angelou is best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why...
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...Collective Soul, a rock band with the base 90, and the famous poet Maya Angelou is known that they have to make a statement about their thoughts and feelings. They are expressed in two different forms of poetry. Maya Angelou to speak in modern poetry, while the rock band Collective Soul adds an impressive pace and rhythm of his words. These two forms of poetry are too strong to say that he really likes his point of his public activities. Both Maya Angelou and Collective Soul share the hardships and oppression, which had been given to life and other people. Poem Maya Angelou Still I Rise and song Collective Soul December showing the effects of the individual through positive and negative expression. Poetry Maya Angelou and Collective Soul are similar in some respects, when broken down correctly. Collective Soul wrote "Why drink the water from my hand contagious as you think I am?"; reflects the same idea that the actions of Maya Angelou when she said, "Are you annoyed by my boldness Why did you suffer from sadness"; These two parts of his writings to make a similar question. Why do I push one world I that you can not wait for someone else? "Do not cry, do not just think aloud Turn your head now baby just spit me not to worry, not to speak of doubt Turn your head now baby just spit on me";. This is a complicated way of saying why I respect what you missed, because you can not stand the way I am. Just go with me, I try another law that if I shit. What good do it for you, let...
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...Maya Angelou, born April 4th 1928, grew up with a lot of challenges she had to face in life. At a young age, her parents’ marriage was broken and she was forced to live with her grandmother. While living with her grandmother, she was faced with prejudice and racial discrimination. A few years later her father popped up in her life and sent her to live with her mother, where a couple of years went by and she was being abused by her mother’s boyfriend. Maya told her family and that man was put in jail for only one day. He was beaten to death a few days after being released from jail, which caused her to become mute for almost 5 years. I think that with everything Maya Angelou has been through, so far in her life, if she was not a strong enough person, she probably would have drowned herself in sorrow and punished herself for all that has happened in her life. Instead, she moved back to Stamps, where her grandmother lived, and began to meet with Ms. Bertha Flowers, who was a family friend and teacher. Ms. Flowers helped Maya with literature, art, and managed to help Maya find her voice again. When Maya hit thirteen years of age, she decided to reunite with her mother in San Francisco. She attended high school and worked very hard. She also received a scholarship to study dance and drama at the California Labor School. Maya had to drop out of high school to become San Francisco’s first female, African-American streetcar conductor. Finally, she returned to school, even though she...
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...grandmother, Annie. As children they shared a very close relationship, and was given the nickname “Maya” by her brother. They moved back to Chicago in 1935 to live with their mother. And was raped at age seven by her mother’s boyfriend. She was very traumatized about this and did not want to talk about it. Her uncle found out and killed the man . Due to this incident Maya was withdrawn from society and remained silent. In 1944 she dropped out of high school and worked as the first Black cable conductor in San Francisco. Maya decided to go back to school and graduated from Mission High school becomes a single mom, with birth of her son Guy at the age of sixteen. In order to have money to support her son and herself she performs at the Purple Onion nightclub in San Francisco and adopts the name Maya Angelou when she married Tosh Angelos. Maya started to read work by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar were her inspirations to write. Her lyrics, which turned into poetry and short stories and her singing career succeeds to Brooklyn, New York, to join the Harlem Writers Guild. In 1960 Maya Becomes the Northeaster Regional Coordinator for Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She Appeared in a Broadway play, "The Blacks“. She directs and performs in "Cabaret for Freedom", which she writes with comedian Godfrey Cambridge. In 1961 Maya moves to Africa with Guy and Make. And becomes an associate editor for an Arab Observer in Cairo...
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...In "The New Directions"by Maya Angelou The story talks about a hard worker woman which is Anne Johnson the life was so bad with her 1. her falture in her marrage 2. Her husband take all the money when travel to Oklhama. Then she start by creating a new direction for it self first by planing meticulously second by training third by starting the progress to work as a cooker to two factories the lumber mill and the cotton gin then she work for a years when her costumer depend on her she built a stall between them then she built market. This is the "New Directions" by Maya Angelou. Mrs. Annie Johnson the main character in the New Directions is Maya Angelous grandmother. Maya Angelou is the writer. Annie Johnson is the same person called Momma and Mrs Henderson in " I know why the caged bird sings" which was maya Angelous childhood story. In this essay maya explains how her grandmother pursued a goal of providing for her family (2 sons) at the end of the turning century, economic success was not easy for an African American woman. In many parts of the countrydiscrimination kept African Americans from obtaining an education or high paying jobs. In addition to that being a woman. Woman were considered being men's inferiors and were excluded from the best jobs. Many African American woman could only find work as servants, such as cooks or maids. Annie Johnson however was determined to overcome these obstacles. Starting off by dumping her husband, him taking everything including all...
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...Later in 1935, the children were returned to the care of their mother in Chicago, Illinois, but were sent back to Stamps after it was discovered that her mother’s boyfriend had sexually molested Maya. He was arrested and kept in a cell for 1 day, however after his release he was later found dead. While living with the Grandmother, Maya became an elected mute; she felt her words had such power that they caused the death of others (her mother’s boyfriend) and as result choose not to speak at all. While living with her Grandmother, she responded with the following words: “Sister, Momma don’t care what these people say, that you must be an idiot, a moron, ’cause you can’t talk. Momma don’t care. Momma know that when you and the good Lord get ready, you gon’ be a teacher.” As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son, Guy, a few weeks after graduation. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook, however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would soon take center stage. In 1954 and 1955, Dr. Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. She studied modern dance with Martha Graham, danced with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows and, in 1957, recorded her first...
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...Maya Angelou is not only an author; she is a poet, playwright, screen producer, and many more. Growing up, Maya’s life was filled with ups and downs. In spite of her trials and tribulations, Maya Angelou has found a way to accomplish many goals. Throughout her career, she has not only written books, but she as acted in and directed several plays, lived in Ghana for four years, raised a child by herself, and worked as hard as he could to give her and child the best life. Maya Angelou, Marguerite Johnson, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri (Gale Group 4). She initially lived in St. Louis with her mother, Vivian, who was a nurse, and a maid, and her father Barly, a doorkeeper and navel dietician (Gale Group 4). As she was growing up, Maya’s mother never cared for her as a mother should. Often, her mother would leave her and her brother and would not return for days at a time. This, of course gave Maya no other choice but to take full responsibility for the household and her brother. When she was thirteen, Angelou’s mother decided to leave St. Louis without telling her. It was on that day that she went to live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya’s grandmother was a very strict lady and made sure that Maya and her brother would grow up to be the best people they could be. Maya’s grandmother made a great impact on her and her brother’s lives. Because of her grandmother, Maya can often be quoted as saying “ If you don’t appreciate the things you have, other...
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...Peoples English IV CP Blankenship 3/21/14 Maya Angelou Known as one of the most influential voices of our time, Dr. Maya Angelou is a global renaissance woman, a celebrated poet, novelist, educator and holds many other titles. She has proven the point that sex and race cannot hinder dreams and goals. In this paper, Dr. Maya Angelou’s failures as well as successes will be recognized and discussed. Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. Maya Angelou's former name was Marguerite Ann Johnson. Maya got the nickname from her older brother Bailey, who had a speech issue and could not pronounce Marguerite (Longly, 2013). He started calling her Maya because he read a book on Mayan indians, and the name stuck. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture (Angelou, 2012). Growing up in Stamps, AK, Angelou learned what it was like to be a black girl in a world whose boundaries were set by whites (Longly, 2013). As a child, she always dreamed of waking to find her "nappy black hair" metamorphosed to a long blond bob because she felt life was better for a white girl than for a black girl (Franks, n.d.). Despite the odds, her grandmother instilled pride in Angelou with religion as an important element in their home. Maya Angelou contributed to black history by publicizing...
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...Maya Angelou Name: Institution: Instructor: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Reasons for Choosing Maya Angelou 3 Early Life 4 Educational Life 5 Angelou’s Influence in her Early Career 5 Angelou’s Influence in Africa 6 Angelou’s Career Peak 7 Later Career 7 Qualities That Make Angelou A Great Leader 8 Analysis of Angelou’s Leadership Style 9 Application of Angelou’s Leadership Style to Hospitality Industry 9 Leadership Lesson on Angelou Essential for Hospitality Industry 10 The value of versatility 10 The Value of Spirituality 10 Introspection value 11 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction Leadership is essential for the success of a given group, society, or organization. Through leadership, a particular group of people is directed, mobilized, motivated, and encouraged to perform a given task. Leadership is among the roles of a manager. The manager in this case is a person charged with given responsibilities for the success of a given venture. At an individual level, one is supposed to manage his or her own life in an effective way to achieve a lifetime objective. Given that leadership is among the roles of a manager, it means that everyone should cultivate leadership qualities in all aspects of life. This can be done through several ways. One of them is by learning from reputable leaders of both the past and the present generation. The world has witnessed myriads of reputable...
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...Maya Angelou Introduction Leadership is essential for the success of a given group, society, or organization. Through leadership, a particular group of people is directed, mobilized, motivated, and encouraged to perform a given task. Leadership is among the roles of a manager. The manager in this case is a person charged with given responsibilities of handling affairs of a given business venture. At an individual level, one is supposed to manage his or her own life in an effective way to achieve a lifetime objective. Given that leadership is among the roles of a manager, it means that everyone should cultivate leadership traits in all phases of life. This can be accomplished through several ways. One of them is by learning from reputable leaders of both the precedent and the current generation. The world has witnessed myriads of reputable leaders with profound influence on the community. Their utterances, Way of life, and formulas of handling situations is worthy emulating. As a result, one ought to assess the same and emulate their style of leadership. One area where leadership is essential is in the hospitality industry. Hospitality generally involves accommodating people at a given place. Accommodation in this case involves providing, comforting, guiding, and instructing people on the type of food, entertainment, and recreation facilities available for them. This paper investigates a reputable leader. The leader in consideration is Maya Angelou. The consideration...
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...examining African American writer Maya Angelou, and her literary work All Gods children need traveling shoes. It’s a story about spending time in Ghana to discover her African ancestry. She covers the harsh realities of the civil Rights Movement, while educating us about key people during that time, while also discussing the history of people that were taken away from their homes. Maya Angelou will always be remembered as a great writer, poet, performer and producer. All Gods Children is an emotional piece that reveals in depth insight of Maya Angelou’s experiences during this time of her life. One of the central themes of All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes is the idea of coming home to a place where one can find unconditional acceptance. For Maya Angelou, this meant finding a place where people did not discriminate against her because of the color of her skin. Although she found herself living in Ghana under accidental circumstances, Ms. Angelou found a place where everyone looked the same and where there was little discrimination against her simply for her skin color. Although Ms. Angelou did run into discrimination on occasion, mostly stemming from the fact that she was American and the Ghanaians had varying degrees of prejudice against her nationality, overall Ms. Angelou felt accepted in Ghana. In addition to finding a lack of discrimination in Ghana, Ms. Angelou also sought a deeper sense of coming home from her adopted country. ` Ms. Angelou arrived in Ghana in 1962 to...
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...Maya Angelou is one of the most famous African-American women figures. As well as an inspiring figure as a poet, Maya is also well known to have been a great actress, educator, historian, author, playwright, director and producer (mayaangelou.com/bio/). At the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya was also inspired to become involved in the civil rights movement. Mary has many famous works; however she is very well-known for her autobiography: I know why the Caged Bird Sings. In that autobiography, Mary pours out the first seventeen years of her life, then writes about her years following in another autobiography. Maya Angelou's former name was Marguerite Ann Johnson. Maya got the nickname from her older brother bailey, who had a speech issue and couldn't pronounce Marguerite. He started calling her Maya because he read a book on Mayan indians, and the name stuck (achievement.org/autodoc/page/ang0bio-1). Her parents divorced when she was only three years old, and she and her older brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Arkansas three years after Maya was born. Maya grew up in the south during a very racist period and the traditional african-american courtesy and respect . She had a hard young life, and writes in her autobiography, "I know why the caged bird sings" how she remembers being more literate than her own mother (Angelou 91). After living with her grandmother for a few years, which her and her brother would call "momma", Maya and Bailey went...
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...Ma 2(1565443) Maya Angelou is known as the “most visible black female autobiographer/poet.” She was born, Marguerite Ann Johnson, on April fourth, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Seeing all the racial discrimination in the American south strengthened her passion for poetry, music, dance and performance. Maya writes about the struggles people face, racism and freedom. At age eight, Angelou went mute for five years when she believed that her words killed a man. These years of silence helped develop her extraordinary memory, love for books and literature, and her ability to listen and observe the world around her. At age fourteen, Angelou dropped out of high school to be San Francisco’s first African-American cable car conductor. Maya returned to school, but became pregnant and graduated a few weeks before giving birth to her son Guy. She left her home to raise her son as a single mother. During this time Angelou worked as a waitress, and a cook, to make a living for her and her son. When Martin Luther king Jr. was assassinated on her fortieth birthday, it left her devastated, but also determined to keep the civil rights movement going so everyone could have equality in the United States. The poem, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by the poet Maya Angelou, uses the following poetic devices: symbolism and lyric that give meaning to poem. The first poetic...
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