Maya's father, Bailey Johnson was a navy dietitian and her mother, Vivian Baxter was a nurse. ... Unable to deal with the pain and emotions of these traumatizing experiences, Maya Angelou spent the next five years completely silent, speaking to no one and living with the belief that "my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone." ... After her divorce in 1954 Angelou worked as a stage performer in clubs where she sang and danced calypso music and garnered a reputation for pushing the bou...

• Word Count: 884
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Paul didn't stay in this town very long when he was just a young boy his father, Rev. ... At first when I started to read this book I wasn't at all interested in it, I was merely reading it for an assignment for school and had no intention of retaining any information. Through out the readings I found myself immensely interested in what I was learning about Paul Robeson. ... Although I"m not facing half the struggles that Paul Robeson continued to endure in his life I still feel that I can use him as a sort of inspiration for myself. If he can overcome the major struggles of race, ge...

• Word Count: 1652
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate