Maya Angelou was an American writer and civil rights activist. Angelou is best known for her many books of poetry and autobiographies, as well as her active participation in the Civil Rights Movement, which involved working with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
Born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, Angelou's parents' divorce resulted in Angelou and her brother being sent to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother and uncle. A contrast with the city life of her early years, Angelou grew up in Stamps’ close-knit black neighborhood under her grandmother’s strict moral and religious guidance. In 1936, Angelou was sent back to St. Louis to live with her...
