Maya Angelou Born in St. Louis

Summary

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She spent important parts of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, and later lived in California. Angelou developed a remarkably varied career as a writer, performer, singer, dancer, journalist, educator, and civil-rights activist. She worked with both Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and organizations connected with Malcolm X. Her 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings brought international attention to her account of childhood, racism, trauma, family, and resilience and helped expand the possibilities of autobiographical writing by Black women. Angelou published poetry, essays, screenplays, and additional autobiographical volumes and taught at Wake Forest University. In 1993, she delivered her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, becoming one of the most prominent American literary voices of her era.