She told her brother about the incident, and was later called to testify against the man in court, which led to his conviction. When she was just a child, Angelou was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. SHE DIDN’T SPEAK FOR FIVE YEARS IN HER YOUTH. Ultimately, she learned to speak French, Spanish, Hebrew, Italian, and Fante (a dialect of Akan native to Ghana). SHE SPOKE SIX LANGUAGES.Īngelou's time in Europe also gave her the chance to hear other languages, and she paid very close attention. Oh, no, I'm going with Porgy and Bess." She said it was the one of the best decisions she ever made. I'm going to get a chance to see places I ordinarily would never see, I only dreamed of in the little village in Arkansas in which I grew up. "The producers of House of Flowers asked me, 'Are you crazy? You're going to take a minimal role in a play going on the road when we're offering you a principal role for a Broadway play?,'" Angelou recalled to NPR. She turned down a lead role in a Broadway production of House of Flowers to join the company because it gave her the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. PORGY AND BESS TOOK HER TO EUROPE.Īfter actors spotted her singing in a nightclub and asked if she could dance, Angelou got her foot in the door to join a touring company for Porgy and Bess. I said that is the job I want.” She got it, and became the first black woman to hold the position. “They had caps with bibs on them and form-fitting jackets. “I saw women on the street cars with their little changer belts,” she told Oprah Winfrey, explaining why she wanted the job.
SHE WAS THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO CONDUCT A CABLE CAR IN SAN FRANCISCO.Īs a teenager, Maya Angelou earned a scholarship to study dance and drama at the California Labor School, but she briefly dropped out when she was 16 to become a cable car conductor in San Francisco. Here are 10 facts about Maya Angelou, who would have turned 90 years old today. But that was just the tip of the iceberg for a woman who lived an incredible, adventurous life that defied a humble childhood. She began her artistic career as a dancer, performing in San Francisco and training in New York City. Her verses are at the very heart of the American experience. Maya Angelou was never named an official United States Poet Laureate, but few have reached her level of cultural significance. Some of the boys'll be coming over here later.' Even after the slow drag of years, I remember the sense of fear which filled my mouth with hot, dry air and made my body light." - from 1969's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, Dr.
A crazy nigger messed with a white lady today. From the side of the store, Bailey and I heard him say to Momma, 'Annie, tell Willie he better lay low tonight. How much more capable he would be with Negroes. His nonchalance was meant to convey his authority and power over even dumb animals. The used-to-be sheriff sat rakishly astraddle his horse. "Late one day, as we were attending to the pigs, I heard a horse in the front yard (it really should have been called a driveway, except that there was nothing to drive into it), and ran to find out who had come riding up on a Thursday evening. Maya Angelou's letter to her 15-year-old self 04:53
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