I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The title was known, but it took a suggestion from Charity Normana Facebook friend and author from New Zealand for me to make a closer look.  I knew nothing of the author, except she was considered a role model.

She certainly had a life far removed from my experience.  Takes from early age when her mother left her with a grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, a small southern town during the Depression all the way to 16 in Oakland, California and a life changing event, a birth.

After my first two paragraphs I took a foray to a Wikipedia biography.  She had a life full of writing, acting, dancing, singing and civil rights.  She lived in a variety of places in America, but also Africa and met a lot of interesting and historical figures.  She read a poem at Bill Clinton's inauguaration.  She was later honored by Barrack Obama.

She published "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" in 1969 and was recognized for her uniqueness in writing.  The book encountered criticism and was removed from some shelves.  It was very candid about black discrimination and sex.

A pivotal event happened at age 8; she was raped by her mother's boyfriend while living in St. Louis, Missouri..  She told her mother and testified against the man in court.  He was jailed for one day, but shortly after was beaten to death, likely by her uncles.  This experience rendered her with guilt and she was mute for about five years.  A teacher helped steer her to reading where she said her first hero was the white William Shakespeare.  She developed an interest in poetry.  

She went with her mother to Oakland California.  At a young age she had a fair share of adventure, such as a trip to Mexico with her mother's new boyfriend and drove a car with very little instruction.  She fancied the life of a street car conductor and persisted  until she became San Francisco's first black conductor.  Like many young girls she had a curiosity about sex worrying about her late physical development and wondering if she was a lesbian.  She approached a barely known boy and invited him to have sex with her.  The one time experiment led to pregnancy.  Her mother and her boyfriend were accepting and helped her get adjusted.  That is where the story ends.

There was something about her that enabled her to digest a variety of experiences and move forward.  There were a number of pivotal people, perhaps starting with her parents who had a tumultuous marriage, her grandmother, her brother Bailey a teacher in Stamps and at least two of her mother's boyfriends.  Moving between St. Louis, Stamps and Oakland would naturally give a different perspective on life styles.  In my life the contrast between living in an industrial city and a rural tourist area changed my view of life.  My views on the rural-urban divide, http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/10/the-rural-urban-divide.html 

Most of her early life she was among black people even avoiding whites.  Whites seemed arrogant and expecting blacks to be deferential.  Moving to bigger cities she could detect blacks who had been living in southern areas.  From California she briefly was aware of the Japanese and then they disappeared (during World War II).  She also encountered Mexicans, who seemed more relaxed and learning a little Spanish.   In the book she uses the term "negro"  whereas we would say "black" or "African American," not because she was ignorant, but because it reflected the atmosphere of the time.

It sort of snuck up on me starting with mostly every day events, but as I read more it seemed every thing built up towards a maturing black woman.  Maya Angelou has had a positive impact for the modern black woman.  Well worth reading.

A Maya Angelou quote suggested by my sister, Rebecca:  "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."