Maya Angelou: Civil Rights Activist, Poet, and Educator - Essay Example

Maya Angelou: Civil Rights Activist, Poet, and Educator Introduction Maya Angelou is most known for her writing, especially for books and her poetry. Born Marguerite Johnson, Maya Angelou is a civil rights activist, actress, journalist and world educator. Angelou has been close to several presidents and to friends with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. It has been her love of people that has kept her going for over 80 years and she continues to influence people all over the world. Angelou is a portrait of tenacity and she her achievements span 50 years. She has directed and acted in movies, she has created plays, has worked as a dancer, singer, and even as a songwriter; she was the first African American to be a streetcar conductor in San Francisco, at a time when African Americans were prevented from holding this type of job. Angelou inspires others because of her ability to talk to all types of people and because of her elegance. Angelou presents a stately and educated presence, yet she is warm and welcoming. Today, she remains an icon in American history and she is one of the most beloved women in the world. All of this came from a little girl who was traumatized when she was a child, but who did not let the trauma stop her. 2. Short Early Life Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928 in the town of St Louis, Missouri. Her birth name is Marguerite Annie Johnson, and she received the nickname Maya from her brother, when he was four (Harper 9). When she was three years old, she and her brother Bailey moved to Stamps, Arkansas, to live and be raised by their grandmother. This happened when her parents divorced, and her mother did not think that she could take care of the children and work at the same time (Harper 9). Stamps was a segregated town, so whites and blacks lived in separate sections of the town. When Angelou was seven, she and her brother moved back with their mother which turned out to be a traumatic situation for Angelou. While staying with her mother, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend and was threatened by him; he said if she told, he would kill her brother. Angelou’s mother found out what happened, pressed charges and the boyfriend was sent to jail. In jail, the boyfriend was killed. When Angelou found out about this, she thought that her voice was what killed him, and she stopped speaking (Harper 13). Because her mother could not deal with her silence, Angelou and her brother were sent back to their grandmother. Maya’s grandmother and her brother understood Maya’s silence. Maya stayed silent for five years, spending time with her books and observing people. It was through an educated black woman, Bertha Flowers that Maya began to recite poetry and find the value of her voice once again (Harper 14). This information is important to understanding the difficulties that Angelou faced and how she was able to overcome them. She had much more to do with her life. During the five years that Angelou did not speak, she said later that the learned to observe the world around her and to observe people. Without speech, she was able to understand better how people interacted with each other, and she could not understand, until she was older, why whites treated blacks in the way she did (Harper). Much of what she learned in her small town may have helped her decision to become a Civil Rights activist. Also, because she met Martin Luther King Jr., and he was a strong orator, he opened her eyes to what was going on, and she looked for ways that she could help. Angelou’s live has not been perfect, nor has it been full of only good things. The most important part about her life is that she never quit. She has stood up to challenges from people and situations, and she has risen to the opportunities that came her way. She has also contributed many things to society and to other people’s lives. 3. Civil Rights Activism “I’d like to be thought of as someone who tried to be a blessing rather than a curse on the human race” –Maya Angelou (Gillespie, Butler and Long 54). This quote from Angelou provides an understanding of what she has tried to do with her life. She first was exposed to the problems between blacks and whites in the South and she tried to understand the reasons for this situation. In 1959, she moved to New York and was attending church when Martin Luther King Jr., came to Harlem to speak. After hearing him, Angelou was inspired to work locally with a friend who was a comedian, Godfrey Cambridge, to raise money for the organization that King represented, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) (Gillespie, Butler and Long 55). Angelou and Cambridge pulled many of their acting friends together and created a show that ran for four weeks. Because this was successful, it drew the eye of Bayard Rustin, who at the time was the head of the SCLC in New York. Rustin stepped down from his post and asked Angelou to take his place. Angelou showed a level of courage in her work that others were afraid to do. As an example, in describing her, she preferred that people used the word black to describe her instead of the word Negro and she spoke out in favor of the process of freedom in South Africa, She was also among the group that welcomed Fidel Castro to the United States (Gillespie, Butler and Long 57). Angelou would leave the SCLU and turn her pursuits to other situations, but she has always been an activist. After leaving the SCLU, she formed a group called the Cultural Association for Women of African Heritage (CAWAH) in 1961. The goal of CAWAH was to support all Civil Rights Groups (Gillespie, Butler and Long 61). One important aspect of CAWAH’s support was when Patrice Lumumba was assassinated. Lumumba was the prime minister of the Congo. CAWAH lead many of the demonstrations that were staged at the United Nations (Gillespie, Butler and Long 60). Angelou would meet Malcolm X at that time and be affected by his presence. It was also during this time that Angelou would begin working and then with encouragement from James Baldwin, she began to write (Gillespie, Butler, and Long 64). 4. Angelou’s Contribution to Literature By 1959, Angelou began to write and she joined the Harlem Writer’s Guild. This provided her with many people who would read and critique her writing, which helped her develop as a very strong writer of many different forms (Hawthorne). Once she perfected her writing, her first novel, one of several autobiographical books she would write, was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in 1970. The title was also the name of a poem she wrote. This book would stay on the New York Times Bestseller list for many years, and this book has been turned into a movie. Angelou wrote three more titles in the autobiographical format, Gather Together in My Name (1974), Singin’ and Swingin’ (1976) and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (1976). Each novel tells more about her life. Each of these was experimental in nature and was well received by the public (Hawthorne). Angelou does well with her writing because people can relate to what she talks about. As an example, her book of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Diiie, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Her writings are vast and there are so many that only a few can be mentioned in this paper. Angelou also has a film career as an actor, writer, and producer. Her screenplay, Georgia, Georgia made her the first African American woman to have an original screenplay produced. She won a Tony nomination for the Broadway play, Look Away (1973), and in 1977, she earned an Emmy for her portrayal of Nyo Boto, Kunte Kinte’s grandmother. When looking at her career, it is important to note that she has always written about the black experience and her movies portray the same theme. A few years ago, she did an album with the songwriters, Ashford and Simpson, recorded an album called, Been Found, where they did the music and rhythms, and used poems that Angelou wrote for the album. Some critics said it was not Ashford and Simpson’s best music, but they applauded the concept. This is just another opportunity to show her versatility and her ability to add to the world. 5. Angelou and Contribution to Society Throughout her work, Maya Angelou has touched many lives and opened the doors for many African American people and others. Through her books of poems and her autobiographies, she has bridged a gap between different types of readers, racism and hatred. She has spoken to millions of people all over the world (All American Speakers). Angelou is a powerful speaker and she speaks with passion. She is able to captivate her audiences because of the way that she uses words to weave the stories and concepts that she has trying to teach. She has taught at many universities across the United States and received various honors because of her work (All American Speakers). Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou have been friends for years and work on different projects together. Within the last couple of years, Angelou worked with Winfrey to develop a Master Class on OWN Network (Winfrey). In the Master Class, Angelou suggests to the audience that she teaches all the time and suggested that all of us are teaching all the time. She provides insight into the idea that when we are authentic people, others are touched by our thoughts and our authenticity (Winfrey “Lessons”). An interesting thing to note is the fact that she has become such an eloquent speaker out of the life of pain and anguish she suffered as a child, and the fact that she stopped speaking for so long. She also developed a love for words as she read and realized that words have power. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Angelou states that she does not allow negative people in her life or negative words to be said around her or in her home. This is one of her principles and she honors herself by and does not allow people to compromise her through her rudeness (Winfrey “Oprah”). 6. Conclusion In 2011, President Barack Obama honored Angelou with the Medal of Freedom, a medal that is given to people who have made “extraordinary contributions to American Society” (Nyholm para. 1). This award was given to a total of twelve people at a presentation at the White House. Today, Angelou lives in North Carolina where she is the Reynolds Professor at Wake Forest University, teaching American Studies (All American Speakers). She is still very active, and just celebrated her 85th birthday. Angelou is loved by many and will continue to be a beloved addition to the world. Works Cited All American Speakers. Maya Angelou. 2012. Web. 14 April 2013. Gillespie, Marcia Ann., Butler, Rosa Johnson., and Richard A. Long. Maya Angelo: A Glorious Celebration. New York, New York: Doubleday, 2008. Print. Harper, Judith E. Maya Angelou. North Mankato, Minnesota: The Children’s World, 1999. Print. Hawthorne, Tasha M. “Women in Literature: Maya Angelou”. Oxford University Press. Blog. 2012. Web. 14 April 2013. Nyholm, Christine. “President Obama presents Medal of Freedom to poet Maya Angelou” (Photos). 16 February 2011. Web. 13 April 2013. Winfrey, Oprah. “Lesson 4: Just Do Right” (Maya Angelou). Oprah Presents Master Class: The Lessons. 16 January 2011. Web. 13 April 2013. Winfrey, Oprah. “Oprah Talks to Maya Angelou.” O Magazine, 2000. Web. 15 April 2013. Read More