Maya Racism

Maya Angelou’s essay is describing her eighth grade graduation and the racism that was prominent at that time. With an explanation of the roles at graduation, she begins excited for her own graduation but as she listens to the speech of a white man, she becomes angered with the racial discrimination that was hinted at in his speech. In the midst of her anger, she regained hope from the black valedictorian’s speech and proudly stated that her race still continued to live happily even with the limited opportunities that were given.

This immediate, violent reaction was how southern whites inflicted fear within black communities in the south. It was also how whites in the south exerted power over the black community and within their own. In the movie, after “Big Baby” reveals the name of Sam Carter, the group of white men beat him up and throw him jail. This upsets many of the whites and leads the police department to threaten Sheriff Walker of having his position taken away. There is also a rooted racism based on the success and thrive of the black community. For example, in one scene one of the white men complains about it being “not fair” that he was poor and did not own any land while black families like the Carrier’s did. This upsets the whites because they feel that they are the ones entitled to have more of the

The novel is described as a coming of age story starring a young, insecure black girl. Living in the south and in California during the 1930’s and 1940’s, Maya was exposed to the harsh and limiting effects of racism. As young kids, Maya and Bailey struggle with being abandoned by their biological parents. For some time, their grandmother is the only influential figure in their lives. Their grandma, who is eventually called “Momma” runs a general store in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya spends time at her Momma’s store, watching the cotton-pickers travel to and from the working fields.

For one thing, not only is Maya a girl, but she is an African American as well. This means there is the added factor of racism on top of society’s expectations for her. These two combined lead Maya to have very little self-esteem and confidence in herself. From a young age, she believed she was ugly, comparing herself to her brother Bailey saying, “When I was described by our playmates as being shit color, he was lauded for his velvet black skin” (22). She is constantly teased for her appearance because of her skin color, and believes the horrible things people say about her. Angelou shows us that the pressure from society to be attractive and beautiful suffocates her, and that she is under the belief that she is ugly for the majority of her childhood. This, along with her parents leaving her and her brother when they were only three and four respectively, makes Maya feel unwanted. Incidentally, it does not help when she notices a pattern for the heroes in the books she reads. Maya praises an author named Horatio Alger, claiming he was “the greatest writer in the world. His heroes were always good, always won, and were always boys” (75). Maya notices that heroes were always depicted as boys, and it makes her wish she had been born a boy as well. The lack of representation of female heroes makes her, and possibly many other little girls, feel as if there is no possible way they would achieve

Uncle Willie was another character who had to deal with racism regularly considering he was a black man. He was a handicapped older man who worked in a store and due to an injury when he was very young was crippled. At one point when the Klu Klux Klan was supposed to come into town uncle Willie was up all night wining as if they were going to lynch him however they never came. If they did, however he surely would have been hung, but none the less it was a very long stressful night for him. Even white children would be very disrespectful to Uncle Willie and Marguerite’s

The most important theme in this book was the trials and tribulations of racism because it was woven in every part of the plot, it contributed to the conflict and resolutions, and gave the story a connection to current events, helping the reader’s comprehension.

An example of Maya facing racism is during her eighth grade graduation. Maya was so excited to graduate. The school she attended enrolled both whites and blacks. First of all during the assembly the blacks had to recite their own national anthem titled “ The Negro National Anthem”. The principal gave a speech the the students and instead of treating the kids equal, he proudly stated the new achievements the whites were going to have, and

Several say that Hispanics are coming to America to take all the jobs, as well to take full advantage of all the benefits the United States offer like welfare and section 8 housing. It’s sad to see how Hispanics are treated differently since there a different ethnicity. This discrimination will keep happening due to that the government system is corrupt, and because they don’t assign stricter sentences when it comes to racism or hatred crimes towards Hispanics. Although, if it was the other way around for Hispanics or African Americans being racist towards the white people or do hateful crimes to them, then it would totally be a big deal.

1. The theme of the story is: Racism is an issue that never seems to disappear no matter how much people say it does.

In another instance, a group of "po' white trash children" confront Momma at her store, taunting her. As Renee Barlow notes, "They were represented as clownish, dirty, and rather silly. On the other hand, Mama simply stood like a rock and sang the Gospel. Her beauty of soul versus their disgusting antics creates a powerful scene about the nature of the oppressed and the oppressor. Marguerite, meanwhile, lies crouched behind the screen in agony at the inability of her class to command respect simply because of their color. Then, as the scene progresses, she understands that in spite of the disparity of power between the po'white trash and Mama, Mama has won" (Barlow, 861927397.html). She has won not because she has outsmarted the white youths or even -- strictly speaking -- overpowered them, but because she has outclassed them.

Native American racism has long been going on in the United States and is still prevalent to this day. The actions on the part of the people and government of the United States against the Native Americans has had a lasting effect on Native Americans. From the beginnings of the the United States, the U.S. government has pushed Native Americans off of their land to make way for white settlers and manifest destiny. The reservations that Native Americans were pushed onto have some of the lowest living conditions in the country and have high rates of poverty and unemployment. Over a span of just under one hundred years, the U.S. government pushed many Native American children into boarding schools and assimilation programs. These assimilation programs effectively slowed down the passing down of generational customs because the children were forced to adopt the new customs that the government wanted them to adopt. Children’s books commonly have stereotypes against Native Americans that warp young children’s perceptions of that particular group of people. Many sports teams across the country have Native American mascots and team names. These mascots are insensitive and contain offensive stereotypes that hurt people’s perceptions of Native Americans. For some, these are the only examples of Native Americans that they ever see, further damaging their outlook on Native American perspectives. It is important for the citizens of the United States to learn about Native American history

The two main themes that are seen throughout the memoir are race (white privilege) and class,

The film encompasses a variety of different themes as well. The issues are all connected to the different prejudices that are found in today’s society. Racism is the most dominant theme that is found in the film. Stereotyping is another theme that is viewed throughout this film. An example of this being when Daniel the Hispanic locksmith was changing the locks for the Caucasian District Attorney and his wife. Jean (the wife) assumes that Daniel is a no good gang banger based on the fact that he has tattoos, a shaved head, and is Hispanic. The film

The grandmother’s bigotry is also on display as the family rides past a black youth standing near his modest home. Her reaction to seeing him is like walking past an adorable dog; “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” (12). When her granddaughter June Starr comments on the boy’s lack of clothing, the grandmother explains that “little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (12). As the grandmother emits racism through her comments, she is also inserting such notion into her grandchildren’s minds. Nor Bailey or his wife says anything, so it can be suggested that they are used to such comments and may hold the same views as well. The grandmother does not see a reason to be empathetic; the boy waves and she does return the gesture. Instead she romanticizes the boy’s plight as a missed opportunity, suggesting that “If [she] could paint, [she’d] paint that picture” (12).

Maya Angelou describes what her life with her grandmother is like while constantly being discriminated against her race. She then found her father, and he leaves Maya and Bailey off to their mother’s house. There, the mother’s boyfriend rapes Maya. After suffering from psychological shock, Maya then moves back to her grandmother’s. As a teenager Maya gets nervous about her sexual identity and tries to discover it. Through these harsh times, the naïve and softhearted Maya grows to become a strong, independent woman.