Maya Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and recipient of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, left her intellectual property in the hands of Caged Bird Legacy. The company manages the author and poet’s intellectual property, which includes her copyrights. Angelou left her grandson, Colin Ashanti Murphy-Johnson, 25% of the company’s proceeds when she died in 2014. Murphy-Johnson’s father, Guy Bailey Johnson, is now claiming that his son is ravaging company funds to maintain an opulent lifestyle. Johnson filed a lawsuit in a California court on Monday to prevent further misappropriation of company assets.
See Helen Cristophi, Maya Angelou’s Son, Grandson Fight over Poet’s Legacy, Courthouse News Service, November 9, 2017.
