''In the first decade of the twentieth century, it was not a good time to be born black, or woman, in America.''
So begins this stunning portrait of Vivian Baxter Johnson: the first black woman officer in the Merchant Marines, purveyor of a gambling business and rooming house, and mother to Maya Angelou, beloved and bestselling author I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.
''A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman'' BARACK OBAMA
Anyone who''s read the classic, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, knows Maya Angelou was raised by her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou details what brought her mother to send her away and unearths the well of emotions Angelou experienced long afterward as a result. While Angelou''s six autobiographies tell of her out in the world, influencing and learning from statesmen and cultural icons, Mom &Me & Mom shares the intimate, emotional