As a black woman in the 1930's and the 1940's, little power or ever respect was given. There had been no civil rights movement and Jim Crow laws and segregation were still in effect. Blacks, in general, especially women, were not given a felicitous education because it was illegal to acquire or obtain books during that time period. Maya Angelou's autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was deeply shaped of her coming of age during the depression that caused her separation, the racism and discrimination she experienced living in the south, and the abuse she endured which formed her discernment of men.
Marguerite Ann Johnson, commonly known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri during the midst of the depression developing in the United States. She was the daughter of Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter, and she had an older brother named Bailey Johnson Jr. Maya Angelou's nickname came from her older brother who called her Maya, shortened for, “my sister.” For a young, insecure African-American child like Maya, it was surpassingly difficult to grow up penniless during such an atrocious time. As a result of the depression, Maya's father lost his job forcing his family to leave their home in St. Louis and scatter across the states. Maya gained a new perspective from her different surroundings- that being poor and black was a deplorable life that she could never avoid.
When Maya was three and Bailey was four years old, her parent's hellish marriage fell apart. The children were sent away on the train, alone, to live with their beloved grandmother (whom they called Momma) in Stamps, Arkansas. The town of Stamps was a civil ambiguity that drew the line separating the blacks from the whites. Momma had a lucrative business owning the only convenient store that served African-American clienteles. The store provided pacification for the African-American community. Racism and discrimination was a perpetual dispute that Maya faced everyday while living in the south. As a child, Maya Angelou was persuaded to believe that the only description...
