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Maya Angelou, birth name Marguerite Annie Johnson, was born in St. Louis, Missouri
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At 16 years old Maya got pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Guy
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Angelou worked as a conductor on San Francisco’s streetcar system at the age of 16 even though when she first applied they denied her because of her skin color.
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In 1952, she briefly married a Greek sailor, Tosh Angelos and after their divorce, Angelou formed her nom du pen by combining her nickname, Maya, with a version of her ex-husband’s last name.
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Maya accepted the position of northern coordinator for the New York office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was here she first met Martin Luther King Jr.
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Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt with Guy and her new husband civil-rights activist Vusamzi Make, and took a job as editor of the Arab Observer which she held for over a year.
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After splitting with her second husband Angelou decided to stay in Africa with her son, and relocated to Ghana with other African American intellectuals as part of the Pan-Africanist movement
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Angelou met the black activist Malcolm X while living in Ghana. She moved back to the U.S. in 1965 to help him build his civil rights organization, but he was assassinated shortly after their return.
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Maya published her first novel and biography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and it was critically acclaimed.
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Maya served as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina up until her death.
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Her first Grammy out of the three she won was the poem she wrote for President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993, “On the Pulse of Morning.’’
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Maya was lauded for remaining on The New York Times' paperback nonfiction best-seller list for two years which is the longest-running record in the chart's history.
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Maya became the first recipient of Hope for Peace and Justice Voice of Peace award
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Maya Angelou passed away in Winston-Salem, North Carolina after experiencing heath issues for a number of years.