1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Maya Angelou Congressional Gold Medal Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds that: (1) Dr. Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, and raised in Arkansas, was a prominent and celebrated author, poet, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. (2) Dr. Maya Angelou published a myriad of literary works enshrining in history her storied life as an icon of the civil rights movement. (3) Hailed for her talents as a performing artist at an early age, Dr. Maya Angelou toured Europe with a production of the Gershwin opera Porgy And Bess in 1955 and released her first album in 1957. (4) Committed to furthering the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. Maya Angelou served as a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Civil Rights Movement. (5) In 1969, Dr. Maya Angelou penned the autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , which catapulted her to international acclaim for its vivid and honest depiction of the experience of Black women in the Jim Crow era. (6) Dr. Maya Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the 1972 film Georgia, Georgia