ARTIST | Page 4

November 2016 Volume 1, Issue 1 BIRTH OF THE CAGED BIRD aya Angelou was born as Marguerite Johnson on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. Maya Angelou became one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. With over 50 honorary doctorate degrees Dr. Maya Angelou became a celebrated poet, memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, Stamps, Arkansas represented the American south and its practice of brutality and racial discrimination. Mrs. Annie Henderson began a business of selling hot meals to workers and eventually built the Johnson With living quarters behind the store, the store was also her family home. Maya Angelou lived here with her beloved brother Bailey John- son and her crippled Uncle Willie. As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African -American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son, Guy, a few weeks after graduation. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook, however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would soon take center stage. Maya Angelou’s life would continue to mirror the American landscape paving the way for a first hand experience with racism, single parenting, over-coming poverty, seeking higher education, creating wealth, living through and participating in the civil rights movement. In later years she would embrace popular