Tragedy to Triumph: The Story of a Phenomenal Woman-Marguerite Annie Johnson

Marguerite Annie Johnson was always phenomenal, although it took many painful years for her to discover her worth.

At age 7, Marguerite experienced the brutality of rape. She told her brother, Bailey, what the man did to her. In turn, her brother told their uncles about the attack. The rapist was no stranger. His name was Freeman and he dated Marguerite’s mother. To make the situation even scarier, Freeman lived in the home with the family.

Uncles Report Rape

Her uncles did not waste time reporting the crime to authorities. Tried and convicted of rape, Freeman spent 24 hours in jail as punishment. Days later, police found Freeman’s body; he had been kicked to death.

No one knows who killed Freeman but talk around town was that Marguerite’s uncles provided a dose of “justice” since the court did not protect their niece. One day in jail for the rape of an innocent child certainly was not justice of any sort.

Marguerite Thinks Her Voice "Killed That Man"

The police informed the family of Freeman’s murder as Marguerite stood in the room. Still traumatized from the rape, she believed her voice had killed the man. For the next five years, Marguerite refused to talk.

All wasn’t lost during the five-year period. Marguerite developed a passion for reading and writing. She found that reading and writing were her escape, her happy place.

When Marguerite finally spoke again, she had so much to say that in the coming years, she became a memoirist, award-winning poet, dedicated civil rights activist, actress, the first African American to direct a motion picture, and all-around phenomenal woman the world would come to know as Maya Angelou.

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."- Ms. Maya Angelou

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings & Phenomenal Woman

Maya briefly mentions the rape incident in her autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. The first nonfiction, a best-selling book written by an African American woman, "I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings", is one of the most banned books in U.S. history. The first ban came in 1983 when the Alabama State Textbook Committee cited “graphic depiction of sexual molestation” and “bitterness and hatred toward white people.” The book continues to be one of the most widely banned books in school libraries and classrooms.

Phenomenal Woman, a Poem by Maya Angelou

The poem “Phenomenal Woman” by Ms. Angelou, is one of the most inspiring poems for women ever written. Oprah labeled the poem as “life-changing.”

She also became the first African American on a U.S. coin in January 2022 when officials added her image to one side of the quarter.

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."- Maya Angelou

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