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1900s in LGBT Rights History | Timeline | Equaldex
In the 1990s, it is considered that lesbians were kicked out of their houses, so Johnnie Mae and Beatrice were probably kicked out since they were young and on drugs.

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Since she committed a crime and ran away out of state, then Mother Cleo could be affected and have to bail her out.
https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/criminal-defense-case/out-of-state-criminal-charge.htm

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20. Maya meets and falls in love with a gambler

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20. Maya meets and falls in love with a gambler

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Maya meets a gambler, L.D. After hearing the bad news that her mother was sick, she went home to care for her and left her son to a care taker. When she returns, she founds out that L.D. took advantage of her and took her son to Bakersfield. And again, she was depressed because of her lover's betrayal.

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19. Maya loses her Hollywood job opportunity.

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19. Maya loses her Hollywood job opportunity.

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After performing with R.L. she fell in love with him, until his old dance partner came back, so she couldn't work with him anymore and her job in the entertainment industry was gone as well and she is now back to having nothing.
"I waited past the afternoon hour he mentioned and long into the night. He never came; he didn't call" (137).

Link #5:
Since Maya worked in the entertainment industry she probably didn't get much money and also has a lot of discrimination and hate because she is a black lady.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/movies/hollywood-separate-and-unequal.html

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Instead of going to jail, and be punished by the government, they allowed her to work with a man, R.L. who was in need of a dance partner. Since she studied dance back then she auditioned to dance with him and they performed many years.

Link #1:
Like this current day, people would still have to tell the truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to governmental documents. But in order to get into the army and get a good life, Maya had to lie so she can get a better life and this was considered a crime. This situation still happens to people. For example, people would lie about their personal stuff just to get into the U.S. borders.
https://www.monroecollege.edu/uploadedFiles/_Site_Assets/PDF/Gov't%20Liars.pdf

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When she answered the questions, the government found out she was lying about not having a child so they questioned her and she still lied. So now she wasn't able to join the army anymore.
'Oh, come now. Don't be stupid. It's a Communist organization and you know it' (110).

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Maya, wanting to join the army, took a few tests and hoped they accepted her.  She wanted to join since it could provide her anything in order to live and help her son survive as well.
"I sidled over the questionnaires and applications, double-checking, doubly-lying" (101).

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When she arrived her family like her other family members inspected her son.

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14. Maya packed up to leave to a village in Arkansas

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14. Maya packed up to leave to a village in Arkansas

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Since she didn't want to go to jail, she quickly packed up and lied, not telling Mother Cleo. Frightened, she left Mother Cleo fifty dollars and moved to Arkansas quickly where her "Momma" (her grandmother who raised her) lived.

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13. Maya gets into trouble with Johnnie Mae

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13. Maya gets into trouble with Johnnie Mae

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Johnnie Mae found out that Maya got a car and threatens Maya that she would tell the cops to get her into jail and she would get kicked out of Mother Cleo's place.

Link #4:
It makes sense that Maya would get in trouble since no one would believe her how she got the car especially when it was expensive back then.
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1990s.html

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Now that she had interacted with the lesbians, she knew it will have a bad impact on her life so she lied to Mother Cleo in order to keep her life right.

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Maya suggested the ladies to make their house into a whorehouse, so they could get profit. She would also be the manager, even she could go to jail for it, she wouldn't work there but put the blame on the disgusting ladies.

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10. Maya went to the lesbian couple's house

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10. Maya went to the lesbian couple's house

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On the late Sunday, Maya went over to their house and experienced an unappropriated, awkward conversation, when the two women kept flirting and kissing each other improperly.
'Come here, baby, and give me a kiss' (56).

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Every night at work, Maya would see a lesbian couple. One was tall and thin, name Johnnie Mae. The other was fat, name Beatrice. The two rude dry humored women started talking to Maya, and invited her to come over to their house.
"They laughed into each other's laugh and  I was forced to join them" (43).

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8. Maya started living in Mother Cleo's room for rent

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8. Maya started living in Mother Cleo's room for rent

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Since she was a good girl, Mother Cleo and her husband decided she could live with them Maya and continued to work hard and good as well.

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7. Maya started working at "The Hi Hat Club"

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7. Maya started working at "The Hi Hat Club"

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The first week working as a waitress at the club, she noticed that the men think of her and her colleagues as just stupid waitresses and none of them would even remember who she was.
"My tips were good because I was fast and had a good memory. {...} Though he never saw me, he'd leave a dollar tip" (40).

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Since she was needed to go to work, she took the advice of a hotel maid and went to a woman's place who took care of children. The woman, named Mother Cleo, offered to help her only because Maya was a young and black woman, not like other white people.
"I agreed to her terms and paid her for the first week. Before I left, the baby struggled awake in her arms" (38).

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5. Maya and her son meets her aunt and her other family members.

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5. Maya and her son meets her aunt and her other family members.

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When she arrived at the house, all her family members observed and judged her half white/black son.
"One aunt ran her hand around his head and was satisfied" (33).

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Maya dressed up properly and took a train to Los Angeles and stayed at her aunt's house.

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3. Maya's brother Bailey suggested her to move and get a better life

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3. Maya's brother Bailey suggested her to move and get a better life

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Maya and her brother Bailey had a conversation about how she needed to move so she and her son could get a better life. She decided to move instead of living her life making Creoles.

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2. Curly leaves Maya and she got depressed

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2. Curly leaves Maya and she got depressed

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One day, Curly announced that he had someone else he was dating before and they were going to get married so he couldn't stay with Maya. Hearing this news, she was devastated.
"I began to lose weight, which with my height and thinner I could ill afford to do" (26-27).

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While working at a restaurant making Creoles, she met a "black" guy who was checking her. And they started having affairs with each other.
"Once when Curly was to take me out to dinner, I bought a smart yellow crepe dress with black roses..." (24).

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Angelou, Maya
Gather Together in My Name