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October 30, 2025 | History

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.

She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she earned the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was active in the Civil Rights movement, and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Source: Wikipedia

American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)

Born April 4, 1928
Died May 28, 2014

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American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)

Born April 4, 1928
Died May 28, 2014

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October 30, 2025 Edited by WikidataBot [sync_author_identifiers_with_wikidata] add wikidata remote identifiers
July 31, 2025 Edited by WikidataBot [sync_author_identifiers_with_wikidata] add wikidata remote identifiers
January 19, 2024 Edited by kathrinpassig merge authors
October 10, 2023 Edited by OnFrATa Added identifiers
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import