Maya Angelou Biography

Maya Angelou, born in St. Louis, MO is known for her autobiographical work but wore many hats throughout her life. Her life started with very heavy situations, including being raped by her mother’s boyfriend before she was eight. She wrote about the experience in one of her most known works, How the Caged Bird Sings. She moved with her mother to San Francisco where she was the first black woman streetcar driver and started her career as a dancer. After her time with MLK and Malcolm X, she returned to creative work including screenplays, directing, acting, singing, and more. Maya lived out what she wrote, sharing the effects of racial inequality and misogyny while having an appreciation for humanity in others. 

6 Quotes from Maya Angelou

Her awareness is what stands out, both of where the world was and how her writing fit into the narrative. She was witness to many leaders in movements and she looked up to others without losing her own identity. She experimented creatively and faced reality head-on. 

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!"

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

 

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