Marguerite Annie Johnson was a novelist and poet who was born in St. Louis in Missouri in April 1928. She was the second child to Vivian and Bailey Johnson. The couple went through a divorce when she was three, and her brother was only four. Their father moved them to stay with his mother alongside her brother in Stamps, Arkansas. This time was the period when African Americans underwent harsh economics, and her grandmother became financially successful during the time after the great depression and the Second World War. Her elder brother nicknamed her “Maya’” which meant “my” or “Mya” sister.
Their father came unannounced four years later and moved both of them to be taken care of by their mother who stayed in St. Louis. She got raped by the lover to her mother, who was known as Freeman at the age of eight. The man got charged and was locked away for one day and released, but her relatives later killed him. This traumatic course of events caused her to be numb and not to speak for roughly five years as she was guilty that her voice caused the death of the rapist. She became fearful of speaking as she thought that her voice meant to kill people. This period, however, enabled her to develop a unique memory, and her love for literature and books grew enormously. Her initial autobiographical work that got released in 1969 highlighted her early life (Lupton, 1998) .
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Together with her brother, Marguerite Annie returned to their dad’s mother after Freeman got killed. Her teacher, who was known as Mrs. Bertha Flowers, supported her until when she became able to speak again as she introduced Maya to books and artists. At the age of 14, they moved in back with their mother in California after the Second World War. She got the opportunity to join California Labor School, and she got a job as a conductor in a cable car which was the first time foe a black woman to do such kind of a job within San Francisco. Maya was so passionate about her career, and she got the required encouragement and support from her mother. In 2014, she got awarded by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials for women who moved the nation. She, later on, gave birth to her son just three weeks after completing high school.
Marguerite Annie tied the note in 1951 with a Greek electrician called Tosh Angelos. This event happened during the period when racial marriages got condemned, and her mother could not approve the marriage. She attended dance classes and became part of a dance group that performed modern dances at black organizations in Francesco, but she never succeeded in her dance career. Together with her spouse and her son, they relocated to New York where she studied; she studied African Dance and moved back to San Francisco after a year. Angelou’s marriage ended in 1954, and this made her work as a professional dancer in strip clubs within San Francisco. She performed Calypso music and toured most parts in Europe. Travelling made her master every language in each country that she visited, and this enabled her to become good at several languages.
Angelou met with John Killens, who was a novelist in 1959 who urged her to return to New York, where she focused on her writing job (Bloom, 2009). She became part of the Henrik Writers Guide which enabled her to meet African-American authors such as Julian Mayfield. Angelou met a variety of civil rights leaders a year later, including Martin Luther king to hear their speeches. This incident occurred at the time when she began her anti-apartheid and pro-Castro activism. In 1961, she took part in Jean Genet’s play and came across Vusumzi Make, who was a freedom fighter from South Africa. Together with her boy, they relocated with Make to Cairo even though they were never married officially. She got a job at The Arab Observer as a weekly English newspaper as an associate editor in Cairo. She, later on, moved to Accra Ghana with her son after her relationship came to an end so that she could attend college, but his son got severely injured in an accident. This calamity forced her to stay in Accra for her son’s recovery until 1965. She took an administration job at Ghana University and was an active member of the black American community. She became a featured editor for The African Review and worked for the Ghanaian Times as a freelance writer. Additionally, it was at this time when she worked and performed in Ghana for the national theatre.
She became friends with Malcolm X while in Accra who had come to pay a visit in 1960. She later went back to the US after five years to help Malcolm with an initiative of establishing a civil rights organization. Still, he, later on, got killed leaving Angelou devastated. This situation forced her to move to Hawaii, where her brother resided, and she continued with her career in singing. Later on, she moved to Los Angeles to proceed with her writing career, and she got employed at Watts as a market researcher. She went back to New York in 1967 and reunited with old friends who provided her with much support in her writing career.
Martin Luther King Jr. requested Angelou to plan for a march on which she was ready to work on but postponed the event. The unfortunate turn of events happened, and Martin was murdered on the day when Maya turned 40, a fact that left her devastated to the point where she almost entered into depression. The loss and sadness pushed her to with and produced more creative content such as Blacks, blues, Blacks which was a documentary about the connection that existed between the Black American heritage and blues music. Angelou wrote her first biography in 1969 entitled “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” after the inspiration that she got at a dinner party that she attended with her friends (Angelou, 1999). She became an internationally recognized figure.
As a black woman who got raised in a segregated neighborhood, Angelou struggled much in her life. She got abused at a tender age and lived with the fear of speaking. The struggles that she underwent were a result of her being a black woman. All these challenges shaped her. Maya's efforts and hard work become an encouragement for the people who stood against all sorts of oppression. She fought against racism and the negative power that was associated with all kinds of oppressions. She put it clearly in her piece "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" about the difficult childhood as she was moved around in different houses, ran away, faced abuse and had a child when she was sixteen. This event indicates some of the struggles that she met and overcome from her childhood. Her parents' divorce at a young age and the fact that she got raped when she was eight indicate the tragedies that she faced in her childhood.
Marguerite Annie ’s life inspires as she was able to overcome many challenges. As an activist for the rights of all people, Maya stood for what she believed in and pursued her passion and dreams no matter how hard it was for a black woman at that time. She changed people's lives through her writing and giving motivational speeches. Moreover, Angelou made a significant change to the w\entire world as she for civil rights and stood for social change. Angelou was among the first black ladies who stood in public to narrate about their life’s events. This period was at a time when back people had become marginalized, and it was not easy for them to express themselves freely through literature. Moreover, her written work defended the black culture, and it set precedence not only for the African women but also for the black-Americans as well.
As a black woman, she had to contend with discrimination, hate and abuse for her entire life, but she made sure that her voice was heard by not giving up on her career. She kept singing and writing and providing speeches that advocated for the rights of the oppressed. The icon became the first most visible black woman in America. She advocated for equality and change throughout her career. Her first Autobiography promoted black feminist, and her writings were more of self-revelation (Cox & Shapiro, 2009). Her work freed a lot of female writers to come out and frankly speak about themselves without the fear of getting judged by the world. Moreover, her poetry became an influence on the current Hip-Hop music community that comprises mostly of black artists.
The motivational theory behind Marguerite Annie’s motivation to go past the obstacle is McClelland's theory of needs. This theory has three motivational drivers that are quite evident in Maya's life. The motivators are achievement, affiliation and power. All these are evident in Angelou's life as she was a woman who had the urge to demonstrate competence. During her career life, Angelou was a hardworking woman who performed to her level best and could get awarded for her achievements. The fact that she advocated for the rights of other people indicates that she needed to be loved, to have a sense of belonging as an African woman and to be socially accepted by other people. Additionally, Angelou was a powerful black woman who was in control of their work and received the work of other people. She held high positions that were authoritative and became among the most influential women activists during her time.
In summary, Marguerite Annie worked on a total of seven autobiographies in her entire life. The third Autobiography that she wrote was an indication of the first time in history that a famous African-American autobiographer wrote a third piece that spoke about her life. Most of her books got written the period when Maya moved to Africa, got back to the US, during the Second World War and the killing of Martin Luther King. Her fifth piece of work, which she wrote in 1986 focuses on how she went back to Ghana in search of the history of her ancestors. She was passionate about her work and the age of 85, she published the seventh autobiography. Some of her work got criticism, but this was never a reason for her to give up.
In conclusion, Marguerite Annie ’s long career entailed of plays, poetry, acting, public speaking and directing. Her efficient poetry was recognized, and she got selected by Bill Clinton to recite one of her poems, "On the Pulse of Morning", which got quoted on the day of his inauguration. Her successful career in acting got her to take up characters and plays. Her death struck in May 2014 when she was 86. Tributes were played to her by entertainers, paid artists and world leaders such as Obama and Bill Clinton. The legacy that she left behind was one that got admired by readers and writers all across the globe. Her written piece "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" became the top-selling on Amazon after her death.
References
Angelou, M. (1999). Maya Angelou's I know why the caged bird sings: A casebook . Oxford University Press on Demand.
Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2009). Maya Angelou . Infobase Publishing.
Cox, V., & Shapiro, M. (2009). Maya Angelou . Infobase Publishing.
Lupton, M. J. (1998). Maya Angelou: a critical companion . Greenwood Publishing Group.
