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Maya Angelou,
born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, was raised
in segregated rural Arkansas. She is a poet, historian, author,
actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director.
She lectures throughout the US and abroad and is Reynolds professor
of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina
since 1981. She has published ten best selling books and numerous
magazine articles earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award
nominations. At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and
delivered a poem at his 1993 presidential inauguration.
In the 1960's,
at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Angelou became
the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
She was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission
and by President Jimmy Carter to the National Commission on the
Observance of International Women's Year.
Maya Angelou, poet, was among the first African-American women to
hit the bestsellers lists with her "I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings," held the Great Hall audience spellbound with stories
of her own childhood. At the request of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., she became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference and in 1975 she received the Ladies Home Journal
Woman of the Year Award in communications. She received numerous
honorary degrees and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter.
. She wrote and produced a ten-part TV series on African traditions
in American life. Maya Angelou is currently Reynolds Professor at
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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