American poet, singer, dancer, author, and civil rights activist.

Angelou began her career as a singer and modern dancer with dancer/choreographer Alvin Ailey, and went on to tour Europe in the opera, Porgy and Bess. She did a Calypso tour and record and then in 1959 moved to NYC to begin writing. In 1960, Angelou met Martin Luther King, Jr. and organized an important benefit for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Angelou moved to Ghana to work and perform for a number of years, and then worked with Malcolm X in the mid 60’s. She wrote a TV mini series, Blacks, Blues, Black!, and  in 1969 wrote the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to great reviews. She wrote many plays, scripts and memoirs, and eventually settled in Winston-Salem to teach at Wake Forest U. Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Obama in 2010.