Writer, poet, composer, performer, professor and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou inspired millions with her words and conviction. Her extraordinary life and career took her all over the world. When she died at 86 years old, she had broken many barriers throughout her lifetime, from being the first Black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco to a full-time African-American professor at Wake Forest University despite not having a degree.
Angelou used her talents and gifts to communicate the struggles she faced as an African-American woman, as well as the triumphs she achieved through her tenacity and fierce spirit.
