The Phenomenal Life of Maya Angelou.

Born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, MO, it was her older brother who nicknamed her “Maya,” derived from “My sister” or “Mya sister.”

At a very tender age of 8 years, Maya was sexually molested by her mother’s boyfriend. She told her older brother who, in turn, passed the sad information to the other members of the family.

Incidentally, the man was jailed for only one day and one night, in spite of the gravity of his offense.

Shortly after the release of the pedophile from jail, some officers from the police department paid a visit to the Maya’s home. The little kid overheard the police officers as they informed the family that the pedophile was found dead, he had been beaten to death by some unknown assailants.

And in a sharp twist of fate, the poor kid felt responsible for the man’s death:

“I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And I thought I would never speak again…”

She refused to speak for the next six years!