Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson) was an African-American poet, singer, actress, writer, director, producer, composer, and civil rights activist. Angelou wrote a series of seven autobiographies, of which "Mom & Me & Mom" - published when Angelou was 85-years-old - is the last. This final memoir concentrates on Angelou's relationship with her mother, Vivian Baxter, a petite but formidable woman who helped make Angelou the strong independent woman she was.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's mother, Vivian Baxter, as a young woman
Angelou's mother Vivian was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1912, and brought up by a father who encouraged his kids not to take any crap from anyone and to (literally) fight everyone who crossed them. Even as a child, little Vivian wielded a hefty stick and tussled alongside her big brothers. So it's not surprising that Vivian, who was a trained nurse, eventually ran casinos in Alaska and joined the Merchant Marines - unusual jobs for women (especially black women) in the first half of the 20th century.
Vivian and her husband, Bailey Johnson, had two children - Bailey Jr. (born in 1927) and Maya (born in 1928).
The Johnsons divorced when the siblings were 4 and 3, and the kids were sent to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas. The children stayed in Stamps until Bailey became a teenager and began to rebel against the 'entitled' white population. Fearing for Bailey's safety, Henderson brought the children to their mother in San Francisco, California. Maya was angry at her mom for abandoning her as a toddler, and refused to address Vivian as 'Mother' for years.....instead calling her 'Lady.'
Angelou gave birth to her son Guy when she was 17, after purposely losing her virginity to a handsome neighborhood lothario. Vivian's calm acceptance of her daughter's pregnancy - and her assistance with the birth - apparently warmed Maya's heart.....and she started to call Vivian 'Mother.'
Maya Angelou and her son Guy
As a teenager, Angelou - with the support of her mother, got a job as the first black conductress on a San Francisco streetcar. Afterwards young Maya, lithe and six feet tall, had a variety of jobs, including: restaurant cook; singer/dancer in a strip club; and actress in a a traveling production of 'Porgy and Bess.' Uncertain about working in a nightclub, Angelou sought her mother's advice, and Vivian helped design costumes that were just revealing enough. 😊
Maya Angelou performing
Angelou covers her schooling in other books, but - over the years - she learned about literature, writing, music, theatre, dancing, and so on.
Angelou seems to have had some bad luck with men, and talks about two abusive relationships: one with a jealous boyfriend who beat her to a pulp and locked her in his apartment - from which her mother rescued her; and one with her first husband Tosh Angelos who she married in 1951 and divorced in 1954 - much to her mother's relief.
Vivian also 'came to the rescue' when Angelou's screenplay for the 1972 movie "Georgia, Georgia" was being filmed in Sweden. The writer's presence on the movie set apparently made the actors nervous, and she was asked to make herself scarce. Feeling like an outcast, Angelou called her mom, who immediately flew to Stockholm. Vivian charmed the actors with her delicious dinners and wonderful stories, and Angelou felt more accepted because 'her mother had her back.'
It's clear from Angelou's anecdotes that she grew very close to her mother, who supported Maya's life and career every step of the way.
Maya Angelou and her mother Vivian Baxter
Angelou also writes about some of her difficult experiences, like being raped at the age of eight, during a rare stay at her mother's home. Maya revealed the rapist's name, after which he was killed.....probably by Maya's uncles. This led to Maya's refusing to speak (except to her brother) for five years, because 'her voice was powerful enough to kill a man.'
Angelou also talks about living on the streets for a summer, after being attacked by her father's 'wife' during a visit. Maya slept in junkyard cars and scrounged food - along with other teens who lived the same way - before finally returning to her mother's home in San Francisco.
In addition to tales about her mother, Angelou tells many stories about her brother and son - both of whom she adored.
Maya Angelou's brother Bailey Johnson Jr.
Maya Angelou's son Guy
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author with no drama or hyperbole....so one might be lulled into thinking Angelou had an ordinary life. Of course nothing could be farther from the truth as Angelou was a remarkable woman....and this book tells part of her extraordinary story.
I enjoyed "Mom & Me & Mom" and highly recommend it.
Rating: 4 stars
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