At sixteen, while living in San Francisco, Angelou had a sexual encounter. She became pregnant with her son, Gary Johnson. Featured in the movie, Johnson attests to the strong bond between himself and his mother. He tells a riveting story about his mother's fearlessness during a frightening civil rights demonstration.
"My mother taught me a love of justice," says Johnson. "A love of doing what's right. If you really have something to protest, you should be on the streets."
Supporting herself and her child through her artistic abilities, Angelou worked in nightclubs as a dancer and then as a singer. A striking figure at six feet tall, Angelou developed a repertoire of Afro-Caribbean music and became known as "Miss Calypso." Performing with a dance company in Las Vegas in the 1950s, Angelou describes how top black talent, like Lena Horne and Sammy Davis, were unable to leave their rooms or use the hotel facilities where they headlined.
When Angelou auditioned to be a dancer in the San Francisco production of Porgy and Bess, it led to a worldwide touring opportunity. It enabled her to travel extensively. While in Paris, she met James Baldwin, who became a close friend. The richness of these experiences was always in conflict with the guilt she felt about leaving her son.
Returning to America, Angelou became acquainted with Langston Hughes. He encouraged her to become part of the Harlem Writers Guild. She immersed herself in the fertile environment of the arts and culture. In 1961, Angelou performed in The Blacks, the groundbreaking play by Jean Genet. The cast included actors James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson.
Angelou's life revolved not only around her creative endeavors. She maintained a strong political and activist sensibility. After hearing Dr. Martin Luther King speak at the Riverside Church on non-violence, Angelou became a coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), in the New York office. She met leaders in the African liberation movement. A relationship with Vusumzi Make, a South African lawyer and activist, took her to Cairo. She then went on, alone, to Ghana.
When Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Africa, Angelou connected with him when he visited Ghana. She joined him in his efforts to have the United Nations condemn America for racism. When speaking of how she was "shattered" by his assassination, Angelou states, "I loved him so much." That same year, King was murdered -- on the day of her birthday. The grief was overwhelming.
As Angelou came out of her mourning, she began to share her personal stories with others. She was recommended to a publisher, after recounting personal tales at a party she attended with Baldwin.
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