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. Her paternal grandmother had also been married three times. It's no wonder why she had trouble maturing into an adult; due to the lack of stable role models and the continuously varying environment. She even had a moment

when she was homeless for a month at the age of fifteen. During this time, she lived among other children of different ethnicity; that were going through