Maya Angelou's early life challenges and influences helped her become the determined, powerful woman she is today. One of her first triumphs of early adulthood was becoming the first black individual to ever work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco... a goal many people doubted she'd reach.

(pp 256-265) I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Copyright 1969, by Maya Angelou.