How Did Maya Angelou Impact Society

Perseverance is the steadfastness in doing something despite the difficulty in achieving success. In the stories “Occupation: Conductorette” and “Like the Sun” both protagonist: Angelou and Sekhar used perseverance to help deal with their conflicts. With them using perseverance, it assisted them towards what they wanted to accomplish. Perseverance is a valuable trait to possess because it helps make progress towards goals.

In Maya Angelou’s chapter Mrs. Flowers, Marguerite Johnson, finds how to become successful in a segregated America. What Mrs. Flowers does is teaches Marguerite how to avoid racist people, that usually meant staying home. Mrs Flowers made her memorize many works of literature such as poems. “Take this book of poems and memorize one for me. Next time you pay me a visit I want you to recite it.” This story connects directly back to Maya Angelou’s life. She was always memorizing writing as a child. It was because of that she thrived in so many different occupations and won two grammys. Maya Angelou is showing that even when you are put in the worst of circumstances it is possible to succeed.

Maya Angelou was a strong African-American women who made an influential impact on the Civil Rights Movement, in bother her actions, and her literature. Her life experiences and courage helped others, and made her work influential.

Maya Angelou philosophy and teachings are timeless. There is a lesson to be learned in her more than 30 published works and her lessons taught as a professor and lecturer. More important she lived what she preached. She had a strong belief in humanity as a whole, in the human spirit and in the African American community. She fought tirelessly to change extinguish racism, prejudice and discrimination during a time when she herself as a black woman experienced its effects. The hardships that she faced during her lifetime and eventually overcame were done with a positive grace which became an inspiration to people around the world. Through her written words and inspirational speeches she was able to lead people in a positive directions . She moved forward as a beacon that showed love and wisdom. Angelou wanted to teach her audience truth about the hardships in life but also show them that there was great value in seeing the joy that life can bring and that there is a need to appreciate those who surround

“Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman.” (Online - White House). This memorial statement, by Barack Obama in 2014, encompasses how many felt towards Maya Angelou, one of the most influential writers and voices of her generation. Over the course of her lifetime, Maya Angelou was awarded over 50 honorary degrees and received the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Angelou’s personal admiration and self-love that is reflected in her poetic works, specifically, “Phenomenal Woman,” is credited to the overcoming of her traumatic childhood and her work in activism.

Revolution can manifest itself in many forms, through a person, an action, or even a piece of literature; what all these forms share is the recognition of what came before them is not enough. Often combated by those benefiting from the current state of affairs, the dark side of revolution must be considered when evaluating the risk a revolutionary takes in going against the crowd. Artists Ntozake Shange, Amiri Baraka, and Maya Angelou can all be considered revolutionaries in their own right for the marked changes they caused with their contributions. These African-American creators recognized that the world surrounding them did not fit the way each perceived it should be, and used their talents to comment on the injustice they observed

In “Graduation” by Maya Angelou, it shows Angelou’s experiences as a black student in the 1940s. In “The Problem We All Live With” by This American Life, Mah’Ria Pruitt-Martin’s experiences as a black during the 2000s was very similar to Angelou’s experiences. Angelou went to Lafayette Country Training School, which was the black school. Pruitt-Martin went to Normandy, which was the worst district in the area. She was trying to transfer to a better school. Both Maya Angelou and Mah’Ria Pruitt-Martin had bad high school experiences because their schools had little resources for education and people didn’t

Angelou’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement and her achievements as an activist were remarkable. While these achievements seem to be enough to last a lifetime, the Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning for Angelou. Angelou worked as an outspoken Civil Rights activist during the movement. But even after the Civil Rights Movement had ended, she continued to be a voice of humanity, speaking out against anything that harmed the human spirit. Angelou moved on to influence American society as a whole, from the 1970’s to the day she died, May 28, 2014. She was a multi-talented person as Toni Morrison, a friend and contemporary of Angelou, expressed: “She had 19 talents and used 10. And she was a real original.” (qtd, in Sherwell, 2014).

Her life was not an easy one but she overcame adversity and created some of the most beautiful pieces of literature, as well as poetry, of the 20th century. Her works prove that you may come from a horrible background but you are able to become someone worth something in the eyes of society. Maya Angelou wanted equality for all and therefor fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Right Movement of the 60’s. Mr. King dies on her birthday and she was devastated… in an interview she stated that his sense of fairplay as well as his eye for what justice should have been is something he instilled in her.

Some authors have the special ability to create pieces of literature that have an everlasting effect on their readers, simply through the words of their writing. Mark Shriver and Maya Angelou are perfect examples of such authors. Mark Shiver wrote an inspirational biography of his father, Sargent Striver, and his many accomplishments in his novel, A Good Man. Maya Angelou, a civil rights activist and author, writes about overcoming constant abuse based on her race in her poem, “Still I Rise.” Both, Mark Shriver’s novel and Maya Angelou’s poem, are empowering pieces of writing that represent Marywood University’s core value, Excellence.

Maya Angelou, as a young, black woman with no excess of money, was part of perhaps the most challenged group of people and she was able to blossom and grow even within those conditions. Despite, or perhaps as a result of, her struggles, she was able to see the good in her life and in people and hold her own against the constant discrimination that could have crippled someone else and left them bitter. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou shares the various adversities she faced throughout her life and how she overcame each and every one. Through positive role models like her momma, the glamorous Mrs. Bertha Flowers who gave her “lessons in living” (Angelou 98), her beloved brother, and various others, as well as books which were her constant companion throughout life, she too was able to see past her own conditions and become a better person. Her experiences only served to thicken her skin and instill in her a sense of empathy, determination and an understanding of the world around her. After being told she could not have a certain job as a result of her race, she traveled , “from disappointment….to haughty indignation, and finally to that state of stubbornness where the mind is locked like the jaws of an enraged bulldog” (Angelou 265). She eventually got the job.

Making her way back to Los Angeles which black spokesman Bayard Rustin sought leadership advice from Maya in 1970. As well as being noticed as a Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Being honored by two presidents Ford and Carter, the Bicentennial Commission and the National Commission on Observance of the International Women 's Year. Maya 's humanistic topics grew greatly with recitation and songs, which was intended to a universal acceptance of human differences and celebration of similarities. Maya was mainly professed to one audience, “ Human beings we are more alike than we are unalike. That was one of the greatest lessons I learned.” [ Kevin Rogers, Biography.com] - Maya Angelou

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” (John C. Maxwell). Cady Stanton who wrote Declaration of Sentiments and Maya Angelou who wrote On the Pulse of the Morning are two different people; one is fighting for rights people need, while the other one is alive and wants people to enjoy life. They talk about separate ideas, and they also discuss what people need versus how they need to enjoy life. Angelou and Stanton are different in their beliefs; Stanton fought for women's rights, and Angelou wanted people to know how beautiful one’s life can be.

Imagine a life, a nation, a world where an individual was defined by their race, role, or gender; yet, categorized as whole and deprived of their rights, chaos. In Maya Angelou’s piece “On the Pulse of Morning,” she explains the people who shaped ones everyday life, one being Cady Stanton. In her piece, “Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Woman's’ Rights Convention,” she is a person from the past. She is an example of what Angelou has written about. Stanton fought for women's rights and has molded every female's life today. Even though Maya Angelou and Cady Stanton display the same concepts of freedom, equality, and achievement and success their perceptions differentiate.

Maya Angelou was a very well-known writer as well as a Civil rights activist. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928. She always showed a love for writing, most well-known for her work I know why the caged bird sings, she also wrote many essays that put her on the map in the literature community. Throughout her career as a writer, she received many awards including a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize alongside two NAACP Image Awards. She even was asked to recite one of her poems at Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. Angelou faced much prejudice and discrimination firsthand throughout her life. Through these experiences as well as others, Maya Angelou was able to make personal connections