Maya Angelou

  • Maya Angelou Born In Saint Louis

    born as Marguerite Annie Johnson
  • Experiences Trauma and Goes Mute

    her mother's boyfriend rapes her and she does not speak for several years
  • Moves to San Francisco With Mother

    works as a cocktail waitress, a prostitute and madam, a cook, and a dancer
  • Role in Folk Opera "Porgy and Bess"

    tours 22 countries in Europe and Africa
  • Joins Harlem Writers Guild

  • Works in Cairo

    works for the Arab Observer and the African Review
  • I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings Published

  • Writes Movie Drama "Georgia, Georgia"

    one of the first African American women to have a screenplay produced as a feature film
  • Nominated For a Tony Award

    for her performance in Look Away
  • Becomes Professor at Wake Forest University

  • Delivers Poem at Clinton's Inauguration

    reads "On the Pulse of Morning"
  • Directs "Down in the Delta"

    directorial debut
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom

  • Maya Angelou Dies

    due to heart ailments