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Marguerite (Maya) Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents names were Bailey and Vivian Johnson. She was named Maya by her brother Bailey Jr.
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Angelou and her brother were sent to Arkansas to live with their grandmother, Annie Henderson. She owned a general store that sold needed basic commodities and was able to provide for the children.
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When she was 8 she returned to live with her mother. Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend. He was found guilty but was jailed for only one day and died shortly after possibly due to repercussions from Mary's uncles.
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When was Angelou 17, she gave birth to a son named Guy. Around this time she worked as the first African American female street car conductor in the San Francisco area.
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She joined the Harlem Writers Guild in the 1950s. During this time, Angelou heard Dr. Martin Luther King speak and decided to fight for civil rights.
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Angelou danced at clubs in the San Francisco area.
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Angelou moved to Ghana in West Africa to work as a freelance writer and editor for the African Review. She returned to the US in the1960s.
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She was the author and executive producer of a five-part television miniseries "Three Way Choice."
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She wrote the original screenplay and musical score for the film Georgia, Georgia,
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Tony award for acting Broadway debut in Look Away
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She performed in the Broadway show Roots.
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Angelou was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton.
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She was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
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Angelou died in Winston-Salem, North Carolina