Why Maya Angelou Should Be on a Dollar Bill

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Accomplishments

Maya Angelou has been awarded with many medals and awards for her actions and contributions to our society. For her inspiring and influential works of literature, she has obtained multiple awards such as: the Langston Hughes Medal, Quill Award for Poetry, The BET Honors Award for Literary Arts, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work Nonfiction and Poetry, and the Glamour Award for the Poet. She has also been given some of the most astounding awards such as the Springarn Medal which is given to an African American every year for their outstanding achievements and the Presidential Medal of Freedom which is gifted by the President of the United States and is known as the highest award for a civilian in the United States. She became the first African American woman to read a poem during a presidential inauguration in 1993 for Bill Clinton when she read "On the Pulse of Morning." She was very loved among many presidents. She was appointed to the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission by President Ford. President Carter invited her to serve on the Presidential Commission for the International Year of the Woman.

Causes She Worked For

Maya Angelou wanted nothing but fairness and peace in this world. She worked very hard through all her writings and speeches for African American and gender equality. She worked close with Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for civil rights. MLK asked suggest she serve as Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She also worked very hardly to improve equality for women and their rights.

Advancement in Women's Rights

Maya knew the role that art and literature played in our world. She knew the power of it; she created power from it. Through her writings and art she gave a voice to women everywhere. In a male dominated world which were the 90's, she never backed down with what she had to say. She gave so many young girls and woman the power they needed to see they could survive anything; that they were in fact just as strong as any man.  She taught and inspired women to break their silence and never settle for a world that discourages you for all you are as a woman. She created the, Maya Angelou Women's Health and Wellness Center, which all women can go to and be treated and helped with whatever they need.

Why She is Deserving of being on a Dollar Bill

From an early age Maya Angelou lived a rough life. After her parents divorced when she was only three years old, she lived with her grandmother and brother. However, at seven years of age she moved back in with her mother when she was heartbreakingly raped by her mother's boyfriend. She confided in her sibling, shorty after that, her abuser was murdered. She felt she had caused his death and went silent for six years. Whilst she remained mute, her hand never did. Finally when she was 13 she began to speak again. And in 1969, she broke the silence for millions of women who had to endure similar assaults when she published, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a memoir of her life from childhood up until 16, when she gave birth to her son. She raised him into a wonderful young man all while working to support them both. She went on to marry twice, travel the world giving speeches and learning five different languages, and doing all she could to make our world a better place. Maya Angelou is a symbol of women everywhere. No matter your race, circumstance, or age, Maya has given the eternal gift of showing you can rise above anything through her writing and life's story. She has dedicated her life to help make ours and all our future daughters and sons lives better, but helping to make a world with equality, peace and strength throughout.