The Phenomenal Angelou

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God made Eve from the rib of man as a reminder to show woman is there to be equal and assist man. As society advanced and man became dominant, women took the backseat and catered to every whim without proper acknowledgement. During the Fifties, civil rights was hot topic. To the fluctuating world, seeing blacks, who were once slaves, as equals was an atrocity. The skin color of black was a stain on your character. Especially to add being women of colored skin made life unbearable. Their own husbands, society, ignored black women and fellow women like them but differ only by skin color. A pioneer, who saw the vicious cycle of black female subjectivity in its entirety, was Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou utilized her grim experiences as a child, single teenage mother, and young black women in a changing society as motivation to live life in face of relentless obstacles and share her story with the mass. As her life progressed, she became an icon and the voice to young black women everywhere later in life, an awe-aspiring poet, writer, dancer, actor, a human, and civil rights activists, and, most importantly, a mother and daughter. As a whole, Maya Angelou has embodied the vision and future for black females in communities where strong women influences are scarce.
The early life of Angelou was a tumultuous whirlwind, which shaped the background for her numerous autobiographies and allotted her the inexorable strength instilled in her. Maya was born in Missouri on April 4, 1928. For the majority of her childhood years, she lived with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas after her parents split. Her mother was absent from her and her brother Bailey lives in respect to the divorce. When her mother came around, close to when Angelou was eight ...

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... in Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. Women Studies 34.5 (2005):359-375. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Feb. 2014
Koyana, Siphokazi. “The Heart of the Matter: Motherhood and Marriage in the Autobiography of Maya Angelou”. Black Scholar 32.2(2002): 35.
Glover, Terry. “Dr. Maya Angelou.” Ebony, 65.2/3(2009); MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
Angelou, Maya. “Phenomenal Woman.” Ebony 51.1 (1995): MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 9 Mar. 2014
Sachs, Andrea. “Maya Angelou’s Lifetime of Influence.” Time.com (2013):1.Business Source Premier. Web. 9 Mar. 2014
PR, Newswire. “Storied Poet, Author, Educator & Activist Hosts Black History Month Program February 2012 on Public Radio. “ PR Newswire US 20 Jan. 2012: Regional Business News. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
Azzam, Amy M. Angelou, Maya. “Handle With Care.” 71.1(2013):10 MasterFile Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

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