November 29, 2012

Maya Angelou was an internationally renowned bestselling author, poet, actor, and political activist. An inductee into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, she held more than fifty honorary university degrees and was known throughout the world as a spokesperson for human rights, freedom, and justice. Her first published book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), was an autobiographical account of her childhood, including the ten years she lived in Stamps (Lafayette County) with her grandmother.