Good-bye Maya Angelou

[My Name Is Kate]

According to Wikipedia, the attacker was her mother's boyfriend, and like so many of such people, he likely (I'm assuming) threatened her if she told anyone, but she told her brother anyway, who told the rest of the family, and her uncles (apparently) killed the man. So he died instead of her.

It sounds like it wasn't a conscious decision not to speak, but the result of massive guilt and confusion and imagining that she had some magical and dark powers that could hurt people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou

"Angelou became mute for almost five years, believing, as she stated, "I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone" ...Angelou credits a teacher and friend of her family, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, with helping her speak again."