When she was seven and a half, Angelou left Stamps to visit with her mother. While there, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. He was tried, found guilty, and kicked to death in prison. The confused little girl felt responsible for his death and withdrew into herself. "I was mute for five years, I wasn't cute and didn't speak. I thought he was killed because I spoke his name that was the only logic I was able to employ. So I thought if I spoke, anybody might die." In frustration, her mother sent her back to Stamps. Her emotional withdrawal caused many to think of her as backward, but her grandmother did not give up on her. "My grandmother told me all the time, 'Sister, Mama don't care what these people say about you being a moron, being a idiot. Mama don't care. Mama know, Sister, when you and the good Lord get ready, you're gonna be a preacher.'" Angelou was also helped by a woman named Bertha Flowers,
When she was seven and a half, Angelou left Stamps to visit with her mother. While there, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. He was tried, found guilty, and kicked to death in prison. The confused little girl felt responsible for his death and withdrew into herself. "I was mute for five years, I wasn't cute and didn't speak. I thought he was killed because I spoke his name that was the only logic I was able to employ. So I thought if I spoke, anybody might die." In frustration, her mother sent her back to Stamps. Her emotional withdrawal caused many to think of her as backward, but her grandmother did not give up on her. "My grandmother told me all the time, 'Sister, Mama don't care what these people say about you being a moron, being a idiot. Mama don't care. Mama know, Sister, when you and the good Lord get ready, you're gonna be a preacher.'" Angelou was also helped by a woman named Bertha Flowers,