Maya Angelou - Famous Performer, Writer and Civil Rights Activist

Maya Angelou was a performer, writer and civil rights activist who was best known for her work as an author and poet.

She made literary history when her memoir I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing became the first nonfiction bestseller by a Black woman.  She also became the first Black woman to have a screenplay produced with the movie Georgia, Georgia. In 2021, the United States Mint announced that Angelou would be the first Black woman to be depicted on a quarter as part of the American Women quarters series.