Maya Angelou Quotes Uplift and Unite
Maya Angelou quotes, born from the pain of racial discrimination and various abuses, work to prove that there are common threads that run through the human race.Dr. Maya Angelou quotes come from a civil rights activist who has been called a "Global Renaissance Woman." She has crafted her influential poetic and literary voice through imitation of great writers like William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, along with the roots of her African American upbringing.
A Child's Story, Told through Dr. Maya Angelou Quotes
As a child, Maya (born "Marguerite" but called my-a-sister by her brother) was sexually abused by her mother's love interest. She divulged this to her brother; the man was jailed for one day, and was beaten to death upon his release. Maya believed that because she had spoken about the abuse, that her voice had killed her abuser. She would be mute for the next five years, spending her time reading the words of great poets and authors.She was the first African American woman to operate a San Francisco cable car, and was a single mother only weeks out of high school. She jumped from job-to-job, including waitress, cook, and prostitute, in an effort to support her child.
It wasn't until Maya reverted to her love of the arts that this American icon blossomed.
Accomplishments Told Through Dr. Maya Angelou Quotes
Quotes by Maya Angelou are rich with wisdom. She's fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and Fanti. She's a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and recipient of the Presidential Medal for the Arts, the Lincoln Medal, and three Grammys.Many Maya Angelou quotations come from her unique interpretation of the autobiographical form. She admits that her autobiographies include portions of fiction, making quotes from Maya Angelou unique blends of real life and historical interpretation.
Through a Maya Angelou quote, you'll be privy to the words of this cohort of Malcolm X's and Martin Luther King Jr's. Settle in with a few touching Maya Angelou quotes, and you'll catch a glimpse of a world where the human condition is an ever-evolving entity - one which she masterfully broadcasts with words that she's already written.
Maya Angelou Quick Facts
Born: April 4, 1928 (Marguerite Ann Johnson)
Died:
Nationality: African American
Education: George Washington High School, San Francisco Labor School (drama and dance), high school, modern dance with Martha Graham, 30 honorary degrees
Occupations: waitress, cook, streetcar operator, prostitute, brothel madame, poet, journalist, editor, educator, historian, autobiographer, author, playwright, producer, director, actress
Interests/Hobbies: world travel, civil rights, singing
Amazon's Complete Selection of Maya Angelou Books
Maya Angelou References
Your Top Ten Maya Angelou Quotes:
"When I passed forty I dropped pretense, 'cause men like women who got some sense." - Maya Angelou
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Also see: 40th Birthday Quotes
"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated." - Maya Angelou
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"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - Maya Angelou
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Also see: Famous Life Quotes, Great Life Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Life Quotes
"I can be changed by what happens to me, but i refuse to be reduced by it." - Maya Angelou
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"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage." - Maya Angelou
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"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her." - Maya Angelou
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"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." - Maya Angelou
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Also see: Spiritual Quotes
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou
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Also see: Motivational Quotes
"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean." - Maya Angelou
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"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." - Maya Angelou
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