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Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St Louis, Missouri. Her original name was Marguerite Johnson.
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Martin Luther King Jr. requests that Maya Angelou leads the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which advocates for African American rights in the U.S.
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Maya leaves New York City and travels to Cairo, Egypt, as an editor. A year later, she moved to Ghana. Maya became fluent in many languages, including Fanti, French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. She returned to the U.S. in 1964.
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Some of her most famous works include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie (1971), Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993), The Heart of a Woman (1981).
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Outside of being an author, Maya Angelou was also a singer, dancer, actor, and civil rights activist.
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Maya plays a supporting role Golden Globes-winning TV mini-series called Roots.
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Maya served on Jimmy Carter's Presidential Commission for International Women’s Year.
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Maya was the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.
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At President Bill Clinton's Inaugural Ceremony in 1993, Maya was given the honor of reciting her dedicatory poem titled "On the Pulse of Morning."
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Maya received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.
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She received the Literarian Award for her contributions to the literary community.
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Maya was awarded over 50 honorary degrees before she died.
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Maya Angelou died at age 86 on May 28, 2014. She had been dealing with heart problems.