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Born in St. Louis Missouri. Raised in Saint Louis and Stamps, Arkansas.
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Graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944. Soon after she gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey.
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Married Tosh Angelos. He was an electrician in the US Navy. Adopted a form of his surname.
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Angelou was noted for her talents as a dancer and singer in the Calypso and Cabaret styles. Performed professionally in the U.S., Europe, and Northern Africa. She also sold Albums of her recordings.
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The marriage ended in a divorce.
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Angelou Sang in West Coast and Hawaiian nightclubs
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An African-American writing group in New York formed in 1950. Angelous joined in 1959 and became active in the Civil Rights movement and served as the northern coordinator of the southern Christian leadership conference.
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Autobiography over early life. It is her tale of personally straight amid childhood trauma and racism. She was nominated for the National Book Award.
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She became the first African-American woman to have her first screenplay turned into a film.
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She earned the award for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty's play "Look Away" and portrayed Kunta Kinte's grandmother in the television mini-series "Roots" in 1977
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Wake Forest University offered her the award for her contributions to literature.
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She was awarded this by President Clinton for her contributions to literature.
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President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the presidential medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor. It was a fitting recognition of Angelou's remarkable career in the arts.
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She was inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. The following year she received the National Book Foundations Literarian award for outstanding service to the American literary community.
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She died at the age of 86 from poor health.