April 4, 1928

Writer and poet Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. She later moved to Stamps (Lafayette County), where she lived with her grandparents for most of her childhood. Her experiences in Stamps gave rise to her most famous book, the autobiographical I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Although she was born elsewhere, Angelou remains one of Arkansas’s most notable and recognizable literary figures, representing, in her writings and her outlook on life, the spiritual and faith-based upbringing that has long been a mainstay of Arkansas culture. She was a first-year inductee into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

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