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During Maya's childhood, her parents split up when she was 4 years old and she and her brother were sent to live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas.
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Angelou's uncles killed the boyfriend. So traumatised by the experience, Angelou stopped talking. She felt as though her voice had killed the man and stopped talking for 5 years.
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Angelou experienced firsthand racial prejudices and discrimination in Arkansas. She also suffered at the hands of a family associate around the age of 7: During a visit with her mother, Angelou was raped by her mother's new boyfriend, that she had never met before.
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She returned to Arkansas and spent years as a virtual mute. She started talking again at the age of 13, when she and her brother rejoined their mother in San Francisco.
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Angelou moved to San Francisco, California. There she won a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labor School. Also during this time, Angelou became the first Black female cable car conductor
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At 16 years old, Angelou gave birth to her son, Guy. She worked a number of jobs to make sure she was able to support her child.
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At 16 years old, Angelou gave birth to her son, Guy. She worked a number of jobs to make sure she was able to support her child.
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After experiencing health issues for a number of years, Angelou died on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.