Maya Angelou is an unprecedented renaissance woman who is recognized as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. She is an educator, historian, multi-lingual, mother, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer, director, and is best known for her works of poetry and her best-selling series of autobiographies. She was born into a decade where discrimination and segregation ruled and where African-Americans were the target of all of this devastation. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, but she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. Her achievements are endless and incomparable.
             Born Marguerite Johnson in Saint Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928 to Bailey and Vivian Baxter Johnson, Angelou acquired the name Maya from her revered brother Bailey Jr.. When their parent's marriage ended in divorce, the young Maya and Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas.
             While growing up, Maya encountered numerous obstacles and many prejudices toward her, not only because she was black, but also for being a woman. At a tender age, she was raped by a friend of her mothers. That one event in her life effected her tremendously. For some period, she would not speak to any person other than her brother Bailey. When her rapist was murdered, allegedly by members of her family, she felt responsible for his death.
             After graduating from the Lafayette County Training School in 1940, sixteen year old Maya gave birth to her first son Guy Bailey Johnson. From there, she began a series of jobs including cooking watering and dancing. In 1952, Angelou would marry Tosh Angelos, a sailor. But the marriage soon came to an end due to their differences thoughts on religion. She soon bagan her acting career.
             A role in a production of Porgy and Bess gave Maya the chance to travel internationally. In 1957, she appeared in an Off-Broadway play Calypso Heat...