Civil Rights Activist Maya Angelou Dies

American author, poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has died at age 86.

She died in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Wednesday, her family said.

"Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belaboured by a loss of acuity or comprehension," Ms Angelou's family said in statement.

"She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace.

"The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love."

Ms Angelou was the author of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Ms Angelou became one of the first black women to write a best-seller, her autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, published in 1970.

But she thrived in virtually every artistic medium, having performed as an actress, singer and dancer in the 1950s and 1960s.

Her story fascinated millions of Americans. She started off as a single mother who worked at strip clubs to earn a living to become an acclaimed performer around the world and celebrated poet.

"I'm not modest," she told The AP news agency last year.

"Modesty is a learned behaviour. But I do pray for humility, because humility comes from the inside out."

With South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in 2008

Her death was mourned across America, and beyond.

"Dr Angelou was a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world, including countless students, faculty, and staff at Wake Forest," Wake Forest University, where she was a professor of American Studies, said in a statement.

Over the course of her career, she provided eloquent commentary on race and gender.

Tall and regal, Ms Angelou had a deep and majestic voice

Ms Angelou rose from a childhood of poverty to become a force on stage and in the printed page, befriending Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and the Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Mr Mandela watched the film version of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings in prison in 1986, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a statement mourning her loss.

Ms Angelou was the poet chosen to read at former President Bill Clinton's first inauguration in 1993, where she recited On The Pulse Of The Morning.  

Her performance openly delighted Mr Clinton and made the poem a best-seller.

For former President George W Bush, she read another poem, Amazing Peace, at the 2005 Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the White House.

In 1998, she directed the film Down In The Delta about a drug-wrecked woman who returns to the home of her ancestors in the Mississippi Delta.

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