...2011 Maya Angelou is a well-known American author, especially during the times of the civil rights movement which she was an activist. Maya had a long career, which includes different works from poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, and public speaking. She is a profound writer of poetry. Her style of writing is geared for self-empowerment. To rise over all odds and to take pride in who you really are. She shows her honesty and emotions. Mostly her experiences that she went through in life or read about. Most of her works flow and rhyme well and usually very inspiring. Some of her poems are even considered autobiographical kind of poems. The style of Maya Angelou can range from complex symbolical ideas to easy, straightforward concepts. Her style is like a story. The vocabulary is usually easy to understand, and not too complicated. Her works are not always conventional either. (Study World 1) Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. She was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. She came from a broken home. Angelou was raped at eight, and was an unwed Reyes Page. 2 mother at 16 years old (Williams 1). Angelou is a poet, an author, a historian, an actress, a playwright, civil-rights activist, a producer, and a director. Ms. Angelou began her ...
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...someone who is a great role model for others. An inspiration is someone who has achieved a great number of goals. My list could go on and on, but what I am trying to get at is how Maya Angelou is my inspiration. She has achieved worldwide fame as a poet, author, actress, historian, civil rights activist, producer and director. She has published ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles, winning both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. Maya Angelou has also survived many hardships. She remembers the good times and the bad and writes about them both. Maya Angelou's sad life experiences inspired her to write works of poetry about herself. And today she is one of the most acclaimed female black authors in history. Maya Angelou is the true definition of an inspiration to me. Maya Angelou is considered to be one of the most talented people alive. She has made a difference in so many people's lives. Her personal outreach for women, especially in Africa, has helped change the live of the less privileged. She gives her heart and soul to those in need. Maya Angelou is also a very talented and gifted woman. She has had great success in professions as an author, actress, poet, historian, civil rights activist, producer and director. She lectures throughout the U.S. and abroad. Maya Angelou also happens to be believed to be a great leader by many people. In the 1960's, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she became the northern coordinator for the Southern...
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...Maya Angelou Introduction Leadership is essential for the success of a given group, society, or organization. Through leadership, a particular group of people is directed, mobilized, motivated, and encouraged to perform a given task. Leadership is among the roles of a manager. The manager in this case is a person charged with given responsibilities of handling affairs of a given business venture. At an individual level, one is supposed to manage his or her own life in an effective way to achieve a lifetime objective. Given that leadership is among the roles of a manager, it means that everyone should cultivate leadership traits in all phases of life. This can be accomplished through several ways. One of them is by learning from reputable leaders of both the precedent and the current generation. The world has witnessed myriads of reputable leaders with profound influence on the community. Their utterances, Way of life, and formulas of handling situations is worthy emulating. As a result, one ought to assess the same and emulate their style of leadership. One area where leadership is essential is in the hospitality industry. Hospitality generally involves accommodating people at a given place. Accommodation in this case involves providing, comforting, guiding, and instructing people on the type of food, entertainment, and recreation facilities available for them. This paper investigates a reputable leader. The leader in consideration is Maya Angelou. The consideration...
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...Marie Angelou When a great jazz singer, professor, poet and an activist Maya Angelou died, we had few lessons we could learn. We were left with so many questions. Is there anything Marie Angelou could not do? One could also notice the how the traditional and social media overflowed with expressions and tributes of gratitude for the work she had done in her entire life. It was easy to pick how she helped people approach life. She helped people feel like they were living a meaningful life. She was the symbol of resilience. She had the capacity to offer persistence amidst adversity and hardship. In addition to that, she was the symbol of boundless creativity. It was her creativity that helped her survive the traumas in her early life. In her famous quote, “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” The quote highlighted her tough side of life. This is especially her early life which was full of devastating violence. This is the time she worked as a streetcar conductor. It is the same era in which her friends Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were assassinated. But she fought back and rose to her feet. She wrote the poem, “Still Rise.” She engaged herself in almost all forms of arts. Her creativity was the driving force in her journey to stardom. She is a true picture of what it looks like to survive and flourish on a grind scale. Reference Agins, Donna Brown. Maya Angelou: A Biography of an Award-Winning Poet and...
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...Maya Angelou Name: Institution: Instructor: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Reasons for Choosing Maya Angelou 3 Early Life 4 Educational Life 5 Angelou’s Influence in her Early Career 5 Angelou’s Influence in Africa 6 Angelou’s Career Peak 7 Later Career 7 Qualities That Make Angelou A Great Leader 8 Analysis of Angelou’s Leadership Style 9 Application of Angelou’s Leadership Style to Hospitality Industry 9 Leadership Lesson on Angelou Essential for Hospitality Industry 10 The value of versatility 10 The Value of Spirituality 10 Introspection value 11 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction Leadership is essential for the success of a given group, society, or organization. Through leadership, a particular group of people is directed, mobilized, motivated, and encouraged to perform a given task. Leadership is among the roles of a manager. The manager in this case is a person charged with given responsibilities for the success of a given venture. At an individual level, one is supposed to manage his or her own life in an effective way to achieve a lifetime objective. Given that leadership is among the roles of a manager, it means that everyone should cultivate leadership qualities in all aspects of life. This can be done through several ways. One of them is by learning from reputable leaders of both the past and the present generation. The world has witnessed myriads of reputable...
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...cage While researching the lists of the authors, I was attracted to the author Maya Angelou, because I am personally interested in civil rights. In this essay, I am going to research whole biography about her which includes lots of work that she has completed, her general perspective and important event which affected people in that century. The reason why I chose her is to explore whether she should have been much popular or not. First I will find historical background of her so that every audience can know at least who she is. And then I will find her major works that she has done, popularity of work at that time, popularity of herself and hidden work which has potential to be popular at that time so...
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...Who is Marguerite Annie Johnson? She is better known as Maya Angelou. Some know her as a poet, a lecturer, a civil rights activist, an author, and an orator. In her turbulent beginnings, she struggled to discover her confidence, dignity, and self worth as an African American. She grew up in an unstable environment. Ms. Angelou was primarily raised by her paternal grandmother. Although she lived briefly with her father, Bailey Johnson, and periods with her mother, Vivian Baxter-Johnson, ‘she accredits her grandmother with planting the seeds of pride and her religiousness.’ (Angelou, 1969) Emotionally, Marguerite Johnson was a sensitive child. Her feelings were easily hurt. She also felt racial discrimination from being in the South. She didn't have much confidence, and she believed (whole-heartedly) in GOD. She did not have enough love from her caregivers, as a child. At eight years old, she was raped. That event caused her to remain silent for five years; following the murder of her accused rapist. His death caused her to believe that her speaking her accusers' name caused his death. Marguerite Johnson was befriended by the kindness and generosity of a family friend, and the discovery of authors and poets helped her regain her voice. The adults in Maya Angelou's life were unstable, to say the least. Her father (being tall and handsome), was a womanizer. Her mother (being a beautiful woman), had have any man she wanted; considering she had several male acquaintances...
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...Maya Angelou, along with writing poetry, was a civil right activist and produced most of her poems from the late 1960’s until the early 2000’s. Because of her involvement in the Civil Rights movement and the time period in which she lived, almost all of her poems are about common instances of that time. The message of most of these poems relate to social issues that developed during the middle to late 1900’s, whether they pertain to race, gender, or other matters. These poems are a way of informing people of those issues and hopefully able to cause a change. Some of Maya Angelou’s works address more than one problem and have many different interpretations while others have a more straightforward way of revealing their meaning to the reader. She writes from a certain perspective so that most people can understand the poem’s message and central idea....
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...Civil Rights Leaders Krystal Pride-Lang ENG/250 March 6, 2015 Daniel Noia Civil Rights Leaders Many African American men and women stood on the front lines for civil rights. These leaders fought for the right to vote and have the voices of the African American community heard. These leaders just didn’t consist on people only protesting for their equal rights, however. Some were famed authors, poets, play writes and inventors. Two influential civil rights activists that come to mind are Maya Angelo and Jesse Jackson. These two helped in the fight for equal rights, but they also were much more than that. They lived completely different lifestyles and accomplished many different tasks within their lives. Jesse Burns, also known as Jesse Jackson, was born on October 8, 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina (Dyson, 2006). His father always noted him as being a gifted child. Jesse’s father recalls Jesse saying that one day he would be a preacher and lead his congregation through the water. Once Jesse Jackson graduated high school in 1959, he attended college. He was enrolled at North Carolina A&T where he excelled in his football career. This was also the time in his life where he decided to begin his activist career (Dyson, 2006). He was a part of a sit-in movement to help integrate Greensboro’s pubic facilities (Dyson, 2006). By 1964, Jesse had received his Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. Throughout his life, Jesse Jackson had a very influential role in regards...
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...Maya Angelou was a very influential woman who had an interesting life. She was a poet, civil rights activist, and much more. She got many awards for her work and overcame segregation. Since we are learning about Maya Angelou, the beginning would be a better place to start. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 which was a time when segregation was very real. To make matters worse, her parents got divorced early on. At the time of the divorce, she was only two, so of course this event influenced her greatly. She went to live with her uncle and grandmother. Her brother came too. Her uncle decided that even though they were of color, they needed to flourish their minds. He taught them to read and write, and that is what started Maya’s love of poetry....
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...poem, “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou. I had only recently been introduced to her and her works after she passed away in 2014. It was then that I had seen what an impact this woman had in the lives of so many people. My first reaction to the poem was that it appeared that she was being defiant. Her questioning in several paragraphs, made it seem as if she is almost taunting the reader with her responses. There is the repeating theme of her “rising” throughout the poem. In the last paragraph she addresses “slaves” which suggests that the entire poem is about racism, sexism and black rights. To me, the poem seems to make it clear that she has risen above the racism and sexism of other people and what they may think of her past or her actions. This poem was written in 1978, and while there were no “slaves” at this point in history, there remained many areas in the south that were segregated. The women of the Post Modern Era had to work hard to defend their rights. Angelou’s works became part of the Black Power Movement of the 1970s. She was a civil rights activist and worked with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr to help improve the rights of the African American. Maya Angelou was a remarkable woman. Into adulthood, Maya had held various job titles including “a cook, a waitress, a madam, a prostitute, a dancer, an actress, a playwright and a calypso singer.” (Grossman, 2014) It wasn’t until she was in her forties that she became an author and a poet. She is “best known for...
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...daughter Maya Angelou. The world was in for a change that day. Marguerite Annie Johnson was her real name. It wasn’t till Maya Angelou's early twenties when she received her name that we would all know today. Maya Angelou was a master of all trades, Maya went on to become an acclaimed American Poet, autobiographer, storyteller, and activist. Maya Angelou was best known as a poet and an award-winning author. In 1931 Maya Angelou and her brother has been sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps in Arkansas. At this time Stamps was a racially divided and Maya had now experienced what being a black girl in this racist society. As one could imagine her grandmother did her best to instill values and morals among their home. When Maya Angelou was eight years old she was living with her mother in Saint Louis. Tragically Maya was raped which then lead Maya to become mute for close to five years. Maya Angelou was sent back to Stampa because no one could handle the state that Maya was in. While living back in Stamps Maya life was going to change for the better. Mrs. Flowers was a woman that rescued Maya from who she thought she was. Maya confidence was regained and she was once more thriving. Maya at this time lived behind the back of the Johnson Grocery store with her brother and Uncle Willie. At this time Johnson Grocery Store would sell to both whites and blacks. In the home Mrs Annie had taught the Christian principals, respect, love and courage. Mrs Annie had a hand in Maya Angelou...
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...Maya Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya had a rough childhood. Her parents split when she was young and she went to live with her grandma in Stamps, Arkansas. Angelou experienced a lot of racial discrimination in Arkansas. While visiting with her mother, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. Later on, Maya’s uncle killed her mothers boyfriend. She was very traumatized by the experience and soon after Maya stopped talking. She returned to Arkansas and spent years as a mute. She was in a short high school relationship and it led to pregnancy. When she was 16, Maya gave birth to girl son, Guy Johnson.(“Maya Angelou”) During the war, Angelou moved to San Francisco, California. She had won a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labor School. While in California, Angelou became the first black female cable car conductor. After giving birth to her son, she worked at many jobs to support herself and her child. Although she worked many jobs, her passion was writing. She was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist. Angelou is best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why...
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...Martin Luther King Jr.’s good friend, Oprah’s hero, Alicia Keys’s singing instructor, America’s everywoman, phenomenal poet, inspiring speaker: there is an unlimited list of how to describe Maya Angelou. Those who knew Angelou knew her for her most popular memoir, or her poetry, or her talent for public speaking. Few knew her for her dancing career and less popular autobiographies, and even fewer knew how much she influenced people around the world. Knocked down by rape, racism, and sexism, Maya was able to not only stand right back up, but she also helped others who were struggling stand up with her. Her words of strength were not only popular and enjoyable, but the messages they held truly affected people and changed the way they saw the world. Through writing and voice, Angelou was able to have an everlasting effect on people, worldwide....
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...Maya Angelou's Early Life Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. Maya and her brother, Bailey, moved to live with their grandmother after the divorce of their parents. The move to Stamps, Arkansas forced Maya to encounter much racism. Despite prevalent racism in town, Maya's grandmother always made sure to teach Maya and her brother strong values. At the age of eight, Maya's mother, Vivian, took the children back to live with her in St. Louis. Shortly after the move, Maya was raped by her mother's live-in boyfriend. This traumatic event caused Maya to become mute for a period of time afterward and withdraw from family and friends. It also created a major rift between Maya and Vivian. At thirteen, Maya moved to San Francisco where she attended George Washington High School and received a scholarship to the California Labor School for dance and drama classes. Maya was one of the only black students in her school and found life in San Francisco intriguing and liberating. Maya's Young Adult Life She became pregnant with her son, Clyde, at age seventeen. Maya had just earned her high school diploma and her dreams of attending college were fleeting. Instead, she took various waitressing and cooking jobs and was even the madam of a brothel. Maya yearned for stardom in her young adult years, but her dancing career did not take off. Soon, Maya figured out that she needed to find a way...
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