Maya Angelou was a woman of enormous talent and a story to tell fueled by childhood trauma, young motherhood, vast work history and life experience, and global exposure to the African experience. It’s hard to think of Maya and not remember her iconic voice, which is why it’s so poignant that a traumatic childhood event caused her to spend five years without speaking. In spite of this experience, she grew up to develop a love of song and dance and enjoyed a career as a performer–even touring Europe with a production of Porgy and Bess. She married a South African civil rights activist and lived in Ghana for years where she taught at university, learned many languages, wrote for local publications, and met with Malcom X on his travels. She even returned to the US to assist him with the founding of a new, more unified, activism organization shortly before Malcom was assassinated. Active in the American civil rights movement, Maya began writing her famed memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, following the assassination of friend and fellow activist, Martin Luther King Jr. This publication quickly elevated her to the national spotlight. She went on to write six other memoirs–along with a vast collection of poetry and essays–and it's these words about her own life and the Black experience that we remember her most for today.