Why is maya angelou important to black history

I am trying to be that fair person, that kind person, that generous, courageous person, that loving person that Martin Luther King Jr. Angelou was encouraged by friend and writer James Baldwin to write what became her best-known work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , published in and making Angelou known internationally. Her published fiction, nonfiction and poetry include over 30 bestselling works. She went on to write the script and compose the score for the film Georgia , the first African-American woman to write a script that was filmed.

Georgia was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. She directed Down in the Delta in —her first feature film—and in composed poetry and narrated the acclaimed documentary The Black Candle. She has received three Grammy Awards and some 50 honorary degrees. This was broadcast internationally and made her the first poet to present a poem at a presidential inauguration since , when Robert Frost recited his work at John F.

From her outstanding achievements in the arts and considerable contribution to the advancement of African-Americans, Maya Angelou has touched those that have come to know her and the inspiring spirit that pervades her creative works. Youth for Human Rights International is a nonprofit organization founded in to teach youth about human rights and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace.

Since its inception, it has grown into a global movement, including hundreds of groups, clubs and chapters around the world. All Rights Reserved. Teach youth their human rights with educational tools that engage and interest them. At the age of 16 she gave birth to her only child, a son, after a loveless one-night stand undertaken largely in a spirit of inquiry. Before long she had embarked on an extraordinary career that included stints as a dancer, waitress, prostitute and pimp.

She became an actress and singer, recorded an album of Calypso songs, appeared on Broadway and travelled to Europe in a touring production of Porgy and Bess. Along the way she acquired two or possibly three husbands she was always a little vague about the facts , and took her surname from the first, an aspiring Greek musician called Enistasios Angelos.

Later she took her son to Ghana, where she met the Black activist Malcolm X. She returned to the United States in to work with him, but he was killed shortly afterwards. But Angelou persisted , rediscovering her voice and using it to lead an impactful life and share her story.

Her influence expanded far beyond her autobiographies, essays, and poetry. She received dozens of awards and over 50 honorary degrees. Poet: She released her first collection of poems in Filmmaker: She wrote the screenplay for the film, Georgia, Georgia — the first script by a black woman to be made into a Hollywood movie.

You can see a clip here. The movie was nominated for the Berlin Film Festival. For her performance in the television show Roots , she received an Emmy nomination. Dancer: She often danced in her stage roles; had an early stint as a cabaret performer in San Francisco; and was a dance partner of Alvin Ailey's, Howard University Library writes.