Clyde ‘Guy’ Johnson born in San Francisco

Angelou gives birth to a boy out of wedlock. She names him Clyde but later nicknames him Guy. Maya works as a cook and waitress to support herself and her son. In an essay in The Guardian she writes:

My mother never made me feel as if I brought scandal to the family. The baby had not been planned and I would have to rethink plans about education, but to Vivian Baxter that was life being life. Having a baby while I was unmarried had not been wrong. It was simply slightly inconvenient.

In an interview with The Smithsonian magazine she says:

We had a tiny little place to live. My mother had a 14-room house and someone to look after things. She owned a hotel, lots of diamonds. I wouldn’t accept anything from her. But once a month she’d cook for me. And I would go to her house and she’d be dressed beautifully.