Friday, February 12, 2010

Black ARTistory

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou (1928- ) is a REAL woman of ART. Maya Angelou is a woman who used her talent, passion, and especially her wisdom with others.
Some may know Dr. Angelou as only a poet, but she was also a dancer, singer, writer, civil activist and a woman who was intune with her artistic passion.


Dr. Angelou won a scholarship to attend a High School in San Francisco in studying dance and drama.

She was a dancer for the well-known dance company Alvin Ailey.

She recorded her first album Calypso lady in 1957.

She moved to New York in pursuing her writing passion, which is when she joined the Writers Guild (1950s).



She has mastered French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic and the West African language Fanti.

She had the opportunity to be around activists known as Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

She wrote her first novel "I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings", which was published in 1970.

Her screenplay "Georgia, Georgia" (19) was the first film to ever be filmed by an African American woman, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Award.

She read her poem On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton's inauguration.

She has received numerous such as:

The  Langston Hughes Medal;
Grammy for "Best Spoken Word album", On the Pulse of Morning;
Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Association National Award;
Mother Teresa Award; and
Hope for Peace and Justice Voice of Peace award, to name a few



"All great achievements require time"

"I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it"

"I believe every person is born with talent"

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness"


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