Maya Angelou was an American poet, writer, an activist, and an inspirational figure, who experienced the effects of the Great Depression first-hand. The global depression, felt in both the United States and abroad, had a severe impact on Maya Angelou during her lifetime.
As the Great Depression began in 1929, Angelou was still a young girl. She grew up in the segregated African-American community of Stamps, Arkansas, at a time when economic struggles were especially prevalent for this community. The economic depression hit the South exceptionally hard, and the African-American population of Stamps was no exception. With limited resources and unemployment increasing drastically, there was only so much her family could do or afford.
Angelou’s family struggled to make ends meet and put food on the table. It wasn’t uncommon for her family to go without a meal for days at a time, or for Maya’s grandmother to trade meat for a few vegetables so she could feed the family. This would have been the reality for many families during the Great Depression era, and especially families that were African American – having little to no support or aid.
Angelou experienced poverty and fear early on, and this had a lasting impression on her throughout her life. She later wrote about her childhood experiences in her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Throughout her book, Angelou gives a firsthand account of her childhood and how the Great Depression affected her family and her life. She wrote about how she remembered never having enough money for clothes or for basic needs, and about how she and her brother lived in near-constant fear of not having enough food.
In addition, Angelou’s father, unable to find steady work during the Great Depression, was only able to provide sporadically for his family. Angelou recalled in her book how he would arrive at odd times, bringing with him the bare necessities they needed to survive. This made Angelou and her family feel very vulnerable in a time of uncertainy, and Angelou’s father eventually had to leave Stamps in order to provide for his family.
As someone who lived through the Great Depression, Angelou had a unique understanding of how devastatingly difficult it was for many people in this era. Her experience of poverty, lack of security, and uncertainty served as an inspiration for her later works in art and activism.
Education and creativity
It was during this era of poverty and desperation that Angelou and her brother were able to attend the segregated Lafayette County Training School and subsequently were able to receive an education. Despite the economic struggles families were facing around the nation, there were still those who saw education as a pathway out of poverty. To be able to attend the school, her mother had to take out a loan and use Angelou’s grandmother’s property as collateral so they could pay the tuition. Angelou’s mother was determined that her daughters would receive an education, knowing that this would be the only way out of poverty. This was a brave move, and it speaks to the determination of women like Angelou’s mother in order to give her children a better future.
Angelou also found solace in her own creative pursuits while the Great Depression was going on. She was an avid reader and told stories to other students during recess. Writing began to become a way for her to cope with what she was going through and to make sense of her experiences. These experiences further shaped her writing and her work as she wrote about her perspective on life, poverty, and race. She found a way to use her creativity as a means to express her hopes, fears and dreams during a troubling time. Her writing explored some of the issues that the Great Depression had highlighted, and it later became the foundation for her career in activism and literature.
Her Later Activism
In addition to writing, Angelou was heavily involved in activism throughout her life, often speaking out on issues related to race and equality. Much of Angelou’s work as an activist was rooted in her childhood experiences during the Great Depression. She was a powerful voice, advocating for change and social justice, and her work was informed by the struggles and despair she experienced during those difficult years.
In her multiple autobiographical works, Angelou wrote in vivid detail of the difficulties of living through such a time of despair and poverty. She used her work to paint a portrait of the Great Depression’s brutal effects and to highlight the hardships that families were going through. She used her platform to spread awareness about the injustices and inequality that were present during the era, which inspired her readers and made her a powerful voice for her generation.
Angelou’s activism informed both her writing and her life, as she worked tirelessly for the advancement of civil rights and for the betterment of African-American communities. Her work and her passion for social justice can be seen in her writing, which speaks to her experiences from her poverty-stricken childhood during the Great Depression.
The Rise of Maya Angelou
Despite the difficult and oppressive environment Angelou experienced while growing up, she was able to turn her life around and become one of the most renowned authors of her time. Her work was shaped by her experience of the Great Depression, which provided her with an understanding of what it meant to struggle and be marginalized. She was able to use her writing and her work as a platform to directly address these issues and speak to millions of readers around the world.
Angelou was able to take the sadness and fear that she experienced during her childhood and turn it into something positive. In her autobiography, she wrote about her hope for a better future, and how there was still a glimmer of light, even in the darkest of times. It was this spirit that would guide Angelou for the rest of her life and lead her to become one of the most celebrated authors and activists of her generation.
A Legacy of Activism
In addition to her writing and activism, Angelou also had a profound impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. She was an advocate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was an active participant in the movement. As a result, she was selected to read her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. This poem was about hope, peace and unity, and it spoke deeply to those who heard it.
Angelou’s work and her spirit continue to live on in the hearts of many and she will remain an inspiration for generations to come. Her experiences of poverty and oppression during the Great Depression and her determination to rise above it are a testament to the power of the human spirit and the power of determination.
Strengths and Challenges
Though the Great Depression had a profound impact on Maya Angelou’s early life, she was ultimately able to come out of it stronger and with a renewed sense of optimism and determination. She was able to use her experiences in order to launch her career as an activist and author, and she was able to take her heartbreaking experiences and turn them into a force for good. Angelou’s courage, resilience and strength are an inspiration to many, and her experiences highlight the difficulties of living through times of poverty and desperation and how those experiences can shape a person for the better.
Angelou faced many challenges and hardships in her life, but the Great Depression was certainly one of the most difficult. Overcoming these odds and utilizing her experiences to become a leader in both the literary and civil rights communities is an incredible testament to the power of hard work, perseverance, and courage. Angelou’s life and career serve as a reminder to look for the light in the darkest of times, and of the importance of using our experiences to fuel our passion for change and for justice.
