Hello, I am Maya Angelou. As I right this today in the essence of Black History Month, I remember my experiences throughout my life. I want young people to hear my story so that they can learn from it. I was born on April 4th 1928 in Saint Louis Missouri. I am a an author and a poet. When I was little, I used to live with my mother in Saint Louis but my childhood was not all fun and games. When I was eight years old, my mother’s boyfriend sexually abused me. I quickly told my older brother about it. He told my whole family about what had happened. My mother’s boyfriend was thrown in jail but came out the next day. Four days later, he was found beaten to death. Someone told me that my uncles did it but till this day I’m not absolutely sure who killed him. I did not speak for almost five years because I thought that my voice was responsible for someone’s death. I have to thank my teacher, Mrs. Bertha Flowers for helping me speak again.
When I was 13, I moved to San Francisco. While living there, I attended George Washington High School. While attending California Labor School on a scholarship, I studied dance and drama. Just a few weeks before graduating I gave birth to my son Clyde who followed in my foot steps and became a poet.
In the early 50’s, I was a Calypso music fanatic. In 1952, I got to train with one of the best Calypso dancers of that time, Pearl Primus. Also, I recorded an album called Miss Calypso. I wrote all of the songs that I performed on that album. In the late 50’s I took a courageous move to New York City to focus on my writing career. I joined the Harlem Writers Guild headed by one of my good friends James Killen.
In 1960, I moved to Cairo, Egypt where I worked as an editor for several African magazines and newspapers. I studied very hard and became fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and a West African language, Franti.
I was always interested in the Civil rights movement. When I traveled to Ghana, I met with Dr. Malcolm X to work on his new organization with him. When he was assassinated, I went back to America and work was stopped on his organization. I remember meeting one my biggest inspirations, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He asked me to be the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. When he was assassinated in 1968, on my birthday, I was deeply saddened. Instead of celebrating my birthday, I gave his wife, Coretta Scott King, flowers every year until here untimely death in 2006.
When I met with my friend, James Baldwin, he inspired me to let out my grief by writing a book. In 1969, the book came out. It was called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This was an autobiography about my childhood. It also talked about my thoughts on racism and the civil rights movement. This was the first of six of my autobiographies. It was one of my most famous works. In 1972, I wrote the screenplay and score for the film Georgia, Georgia which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. This Pulitzer Prize nomination was the first by an African American women. Through the years, I continued to write my autobiographies about different stages throughout my life. In 1993, at President Clinton’s Inauguration, I read my poem, On the Pulse of the Morning. Here is an excerpt from my most famous poem.
“Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning. ”
Through the years, I have broken racial boundaries, from something small like being the first African American women to conduct cable cars in San Francisco to becoming the first African American Women to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and to be the first African American women to direct a major motion picture. This did not come easily. I had to work hard and be courageous for what I have accomplished. I have been through the civil rights movement and seen a lot of racism in my time and I like to show that in my work. As I have said before, I write because I am a Black women, listening attentively to her people. I hope that this new generation will be an innovative generation. I want this generation to not turn back to the old ways of this world. I want racism to end everywhere. I think that we on the right path though. We have come a long way because now we have our first Black president of America. Even if you did not vote for him you have to admit that this was a huge step in America. Young people of America, I want you to follow your dreams and I hope that you can learn from my experiences. Nobody said that this road called life is going to be easy, but trust me, if I can make it, you can make it, too.
