Tyra Banks and Maya Angelou 10
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An Analysis of the Impact of Tyra Banks and Maya Angelou
Maggie Salem
World History Honors Period 5
Mrs. Herrmann
Beautiful, African-American, Women, and Role models: these words can describe these ladies by the names of Tyra Banks and Maya Angelou. Tyra Banks and Maya Angelou are two of the most famous African American woman. These two people lived lives that we influential to man others. They both have left lasting legacies throughout society. These two women share many similarities, but at the same time have many distinctions. These women struggled to get to the top, but they eventually found there way there.
Tyra Banks was born on December 4th, 1973 in Los Angeles, California. Her blessed parents were Don Banks and Carolyn London-Johnson. Her mother was a medical photographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, while her father was a computer consultant. Sadly though, they had divorced was Tyra was six (Tyra Banks Biography- The Planets). The relationship between her parents and their children, including Tyra’s brother Devin, stayed the same. Growing up, Tyra would parade around the neighborhood in her mom’s high heels and long robes, pretending to be a model. But, in more serious terms, Tyra wanted to be a veterinarian (Tyra Banks Biography- The Planets).
Tyra attended Immaculate Heart High School, a Catholic girls’ school. Many of her classmates teased her because of her increasing height at 5’11’’ and weight around 125 pounds. She said her most humbling experience in life was losing the prom queen crown to a girl she described as the smartest in her class (Tyra Banks Biography- Bio.).
After graduating from Immaculate Heart, she decided to try modeling, figuring it was a good way to start traveling. Since her mom was a photographer, she put together a portfolio of Tyra. She took her book to many agencies, but most places Tyra would be declined because the market for black models was not very good (Tyra Banks Biography- The Planets).
After hitting many dead ends, Tyra decided to go ahead with her backup plans. She began applying at many colleges to study film. She was accepted at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Two weeks before class had started, a model scout from France spotted her walking down the street. He offered her immediate work for the fall couture shows in Paris. Of course, Tyra accepted (Answers.com).
Within her first weeks of modeling in Paris, other designers were mesmerized by her presence on the runway that she was booked for 25 straight shows. After that, she was offered contract deals where the real money was. She was the first African American woman on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. Ralph Lauren, an American designer, wanted her for a multipage ad campaign (Answers.com). And last, Cover Girl made her the second African American to be offered a long-term deal with them.
Even though it seemed like a day in the park for Tyra, the modeling business was difficult for her. Racism in the modeling industry was present. Many people were calling her the “new Naomi Campbell.” Campbell was enraged that people would compare Tyra to her. She managed to get Tyra barred from appearing in a Chanel show. Racism was shown when she and a friend went to a New York City newsstand to purchase a magazine where Tyra was on the cover (Answers.com). The proprietor yelled at Tyra and her friends and ordered them out of the store. When her friend pointed out the issue and Banks’ image, he responded by saying "I don't care. You all look alike (Answers.com)."
Eventually Tyra got through this stage in her life. She began her acting career by playing Jackie Ames, a love interest in the show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After that, she got a role in John Singleton’s film, Higher Learning.
Over the next decade, she took her career to many new heights. She wrote a beauty book that taught to recognize one’s own inner and outer beauty. She continued to take roles in film, such as Life-Size. She played a doll magically given life. She also played in many other movies. Along with acting, she produced two of her own shows. These included America’s Next Top Model and The Tyra Banks Show. Both were very successful and have had many seasons (Tyra Banks Biography- Bio.).
Tyra Banks left a trail of success behind her. She was one of the first African-American models. This inspired African-American women everywhere in many different ways. It showed that they were beautiful and could someday become to be like her. It also gave them hope to become actresses. Tyra influenced and left a legacy behind to many (Answers.com).
Marguerite Annie Johnson was born to Bailey Johnson and Vivian Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928. Her mother was a real estate agent, trained surgical nurse, and later a merchant marine. Her father was a doorman and navy dietician. She had one old brother named Bailey Jr. He gave her the nickname “Maya”. Her parents later divorced when she was three years old. Many problems occurred with Maya after this had happened (Maya Angelou- Biography).
Their father had sent her brother and herself to Stamps, Arkansas alone, to live with their grandmother, Annie Henderson. Four years after Maya and her brother were sent to Arkansas, her father came and returned them to their mother’s care back in St. Louis. At age eight, Maya was sexually abused and raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. Maya told her brother about this and soon enough the rest of their family knew (Maya Angelou Biography). Mr. Freeman was eventually found guilty, but only jailed for a day. Four days after he was released from jail, he was found beaten to death. After this had all occurred, Maya became mute. Maya stated that “I thought my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone…” She remained mute for nearly five years. After Freeman’s murder, Maya and her brother were sent back to their grandmother (Maya Angelou Biography).
Maya credits her teacher, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, with helping her speak again. She showed her authors such as Shakespeare and James Weldon Johnson. At age 13, she finally began to speak again. Her and her brother returned to live with their mother in San Francisco.
Maya began high school at Mission High School. She won a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. While there, she was shown the progressive ideals that later helped her with her political activism. She dropped out of school in her teens to become San Francisco’s first African American female cable car conductor. Later on, she returned to high school. During her senior year she became pregnant. She graduated a few weeks before giving birth to her son, Guy. She left home at 16 and took on the difficult life of a single mom. She worked as a waitress and cook (Maya Angelou- Biography).
In 1952, she married a Greek sailor named Tosh Angelous. During this point in her life, she began her career as a nightclub singer. This is when she took the professional name Maya Angelou. Even though her marriage to Tosh didn’t last but three years, her performing career never ceased. She won a scholarship and trained in African dance. During 1954 and 1955 she toured through Europe with the opera Porgy and Bess. Later on, she studied modern dance with Martha Graham. She recorded her first album, Miss Calypso (Maya Angelou- Biography).
Maya had composed song lyrics and poems for many years and by the end of the 50’s she was increasingly interested in being a writer. She moved to New York, where she joined the Harlem Writers Guild and took her place among the growing number of young black writers and artists associated with the Civil Rights Movement (Maya Angelou Biography).
In New York, she fell in love with the South African civil rights activist Vacuums Make and in 1960, the couple moved, with Angelou's son, to Cairo, Egypt. Angelou and Guy later moved to Ghana. She served as an instructor and assistant administrator at the University of Ghana's School of Music and Drama, worked as feature editor for The African Review and wrote for The Ghanaian Times and the Ghanaian Broadcasting Company. While she was abroad, she met with the American dissident leader Malcolm X in his visits to Ghana (Maya Angelou- Biography).
Maya Angelou returned to America in 1964, with the intention of helping Malcolm X build his new Organization of African American Unity. Shortly after her arrival in the United States, Malcolm X was assassinated, and his plans for a new organization died with him. Angelou later started working more closely with Martin Luther King Jr. He later was assassinated also and this left her devastated.
After her time working with the Civil Rights Movements, she began to write. She started working on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which tells about her early life to the birth of Guy. The book was published in 1970 and became a huge success.
Angelou became a national figure after this huge success. . In the following years, she wrote more books about her life that found as much success as her first autobiography. Angelou had been invited by successive Presidents of the United States to serve in various places.
Angelou has been invited by successive Presidents of the United States to serve in various places. President Ford appointed her to the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and President Carter invited her to serve on the Presidential Commission for the International Year of the Woman. President Clinton requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration in 1993. Angelou's reading of her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" was broadcast live around the world (Maya Angelou Biography).
Maya had increasing success and the list of her published works now includes more than 30 titles. Books of her stories include Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now and Even the Stars Look Lonesome. She also has continued to write narratives of her life in Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, along with many others (Maya Angelou- Biography).
Maya Angelou left a legacy that many will never forget. She persevered through the tough times of being a single mother and made she out to be a very successful woman. She fought through the Civil Rights Movement and inspired many African-American woman and men. Her poems and books have made her well known. They have also taken her many places. Maya Angelou left herself a beautiful legacy.
Even though Tyra and Maya led two different lives, they had many similarities. They both were African American women that accomplished many things in their lifetime. They both gathered respect from Americans that didn’t believe that African Americans were allowed to do anything. Both of these women had to go through the separation of their parents. This had to be a difficult time in their life that made both of them stronger people. They both have found themselves in many Americans’ homes. Tyra has a few shows and movies that are commonly found on TV’s in many Americans’ homes. Maya has her books upon shelves or being read by many Americans.
More similarities can be found between Tyra and Maya. They both had persevered through racism. Tyra did it through her modeling career and Maya had been there personally during the Civil Rights movement. They both show characteristics of being leaders. Determination, confidence, strong wills, and passion are just a few of those characteristics that these women behold. They both established themselves as beautiful people. Tyra is portrayed as a beautiful woman from her photos and many don’t realize what a beautiful person she is on the inside also. The same could be said about Maya, except many people know how much of a beautiful person she is on the inside.
Of all the similarities that can be made, there are just as many distinctions between these women. For instance, these ladies grew up in a different time frame. Maya had a childhood during the times of racial discrimination. She also grew up in the times of the Civil Rights movement. Tyra grew up in a time where African Americans were growing to be more accepted. She was accepted into going to restaurants with white people and not riding in the back of the bus. Another difference was their professions. Tyra had a long modeling career that turned into being a talk-show host and a producer of a modeling show. Maya had a profession of being a novelist, writing poems, and being an activist.
Even more distinctions can be made from the two. They lived in different parts of the United States. Maya lived in Alabama for most of her life and was in the midst of the African Americans. Tyra lived in Los Angeles and during her time she lived in the upper part of the city. Another difference was that Maya was a more serious person. She had been a Civil Rights activist and had many dreams for others in the future. Tyra is known as a more quirky person. These two women have many distinctions that make them unique.
All in all, I believe that Maya Angelou definitely has the bigger impact on history. Maya was one of the most famous Civil Rights activists. She participated in helping and became close with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. They both respected her for who she was. Even after they had died, she had tried to keep the movement going. She also went to Africa to help motivate them and get ideas from civil activists down there to make the United States a better place. She also was well known by many of the Presidents of the United States. She did many favors for them and even read one of her poems at Bill Clinton’s inauguration.
Maya had many books published throughout her years and many poems published. She had a total of 30 books published so far. She also has won many awards, such as the Mother Teresa award and the Pulitzer Prize award for one of her poems. All in all, Maya left a bigger, stronger impact on history.