i know why the caged bird sings sparknotes

King names her coordinator of SCLC's office in New York. speak, she and her friend activist Godfrey Cambridge are inspired to produce a successful fundraising event for King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) called Cabaret For Freedom. She meets Malcolm X and is struck by his good looks and magnetism. She becomes a published writer for the first time.Īngelou becomes more politically active and participates in African-American and African protest rallies, including helping to organize a sit-in at the United Nations following the death of Zaire's prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. She meets other important African-American artists and writers, including James Baldwin, who would become her mentor. Her friend, novelist John Killens, invites her to join the Harlem Writers Guild. No longer satisfied with performing in nightclubs, she dedicates herself to acting, writing, political organizing, and her son. The transition is difficult for Guy, and Angelou is forced to protect him from a gang leader. But it won't be for singing.' In 1959, Angelou and Guy move to New York City. Holiday tells Angelou, 'You're going to be famous. Singer Billie Holiday visits Angelou and her son there and Holiday sings 'Strange Fruit', her famous song about the lynching of Black men, to Guy.

After a year, they move to a rented house near San Francisco. Angelou and her teenage son Guy have moved into a houseboat commune in Sausalito. The events described in The Heart of a Woman take place between 19, beginning shortly after the end of Angelou's previous autobiography, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas.

I know why the caged bird sings sparknotes