Blog Post #3

In Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I found that Chapter 23 really dipped into the true emotions that Maya encountered throughout her lifetime. At the beginning of the chapter, Maya a graduating eighth grader, is anxious for the ceremony. Although she has some nervousness, she knows that many individuals in Stamps never finished grammar school. Lots of wonderful things come to Maya, such as gifts and the feeling of confidence in her perfectly fitting dress. All of these feelings soon come to an abrupt end when the ceremony itself begins. The superintendent (a white man) acts as though he is superior to each and every one of the colored individuals present. He acts as though he needs not to show any sense of respect due to the fact that these graduating students are African America. Following the speech of the superintendent, a student rises to give a speech of his own. This speech completely blew away that of the superintendent. Not due to the content, but the meaning of the content. It showed that although each individual there had faced hardships, troubled times and even more so racism, they still were brought back to their roots and were proud of their ethnicity. I believe that this chapter should be a lesson for all of us. Racism is a real life occurrence, even in the advanced society that we live in today. So next time, instead of judging someone based on their race or skin color, take a step in their shoes.