I think that everyone thought that the Depression like everything else, was for the white-folks, so it had nothing to do with them. - Maya Angelou

Like most children, I thought if I could face the worst danger voluntarily, and triumph, I would forever have power over it.

Frequently, I have been asked how I got to be this way. How did I, born black in a white country, poor in a society where wealth is adored and sought after at all costs, female in an environment where only large ships and some engines are described favourably by using the female pronoun-how did I get to be Maya Angelou?

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'.