Who was berta flowers to Maya Angelou?

She felt that Mrs. Bertha Flowers was a person to look up to. She lacked a lot of confidence in herself due to her very criticizing grandmother and when she got molested which caused her to not feel confident in herself to do anything. That is why Mrs. Bertha made her read a loud so she knows she has a voice and should use it. Which made the girl feel that she is entitled to say what she want because Mrs. Bertha Flowers gave her the needed confidence to.