Maya Angelou, an African American woman who grew up in the 1930s and 40s, first published her story in 1969 and later the autobiographical movie about her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was released. Starring in the movie as Maya, Bailey Jr., and Momma were Constance Good, John Driver, and Esther Rolle. The book and movie both tell the story of Angelou’s hard childhood while growing up an African American girl in the South and overcoming adversity.
Born Marguerite Johnson, Angelou and her older brother, Bailey Jr., were sent to live with their grandmother, whom they called “Momma,” and uncle at their grandmother’s shop in the “black” part of Stamps, Arkansas at the early ages of three and four. They attended an all-black pupil school where their new teacher Mrs. Flowers took an interest in Maya and her early writing abilities. During the set time of the movie there was a lot of racial tension between whites and blacks in the South, one of the worst conflicts included the group called the Ku Klux Klan. The African Americans of Stamps lived in constant fear of what could happen to them if they were caught alone on the streets or if members of the KKK found them. After receiving gifts from their once-thought dead …show more content…
The scene when the white men in their cars pulled up in front of the store, shot off a gun, and lit a cross in the field showed just how serious the people could become when threatening the lives and livelihood of the African Americans of the South. The disrespect that the three white girls showed to Momma was very disappointing. How could a human being ridicule another in such a mean, mocking way? It is hard to think of what Angelou’s family and other African’s in the South had to go through, but presently comparing the actions of some white officers and citizens with blacks in the South may be slightly equivalent to what she dealt with, of course, not quite so much
Born Marguerite Johnson, Angelou and her older brother, Bailey Jr., were sent to live with their grandmother, whom they called “Momma,” and uncle at their grandmother’s shop in the “black” part of Stamps, Arkansas at the early ages of three and four. They attended an all-black pupil school where their new teacher Mrs. Flowers took an interest in Maya and her early writing abilities. During the set time of the movie there was a lot of racial tension between whites and blacks in the South, one of the worst conflicts included the group called the Ku Klux Klan. The African Americans of Stamps lived in constant fear of what could happen to them if they were caught alone on the streets or if members of the KKK found them. After receiving gifts from their once-thought dead …show more content…
The scene when the white men in their cars pulled up in front of the store, shot off a gun, and lit a cross in the field showed just how serious the people could become when threatening the lives and livelihood of the African Americans of the South. The disrespect that the three white girls showed to Momma was very disappointing. How could a human being ridicule another in such a mean, mocking way? It is hard to think of what Angelou’s family and other African’s in the South had to go through, but presently comparing the actions of some white officers and citizens with blacks in the South may be slightly equivalent to what she dealt with, of course, not quite so much