I'm a privileged white girl in my 30's. I'm blessed beyond measure and have never experienced prejudice of any kind. That in itself can feel shameful, and only through reading the struggles of others who are different (racially, culturally) can we learn and increase empathy.
It feels silly to review certain memoirs, this being one. We all have our own thoughts to differentiate a review, but it's hard to adequately discuss the importance of this memoir. Instead, here are some notes that struck me as I was reading. Angelou's character study is impeccable. When discussing a respected peer: "Anyone, I reckoned, sufficiently afraid or sufficiently dull could be polite. But to be able to operate at a top level with both adults and children was admirable."(pg 170). So true!
The sense of solidarity was powerful. As outsiders, the black community had to take care of their own. One might think that oppressed people would be introverted and concerned only about their own families. This isn't the case in her small Arkansas town. Friends and neighbors make the graduating kids their pride and joy. Going beyond the usual parties and food, garments are made and homemade gifts shared.
The tent revival was an informative look at status and belief. "People whose history and future were threatened each day by extinction considered that it was only by divine intervention that they were able to live at all. I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at a commensurate speed." (pg. 118 in my edition). Wow.
One of my favorite parts was Maya's joy in finding an unexpected friendship in Mrs. Flowers. Finding someone outside of your own family who likes you is a wonderful coming-of-age experience. I was also humbled by the thankfulness and humility her people had, when it would be easy to live in a blind rage over the injustice of it all.
While I expected to be furious and heartbroken at times for her plight (and I was!), I was also surprised at the joy and strength found in her childhood journey. The ignorant white people who sneer at her as she attempts to procure her first job wouldn't have the resourcefulness she was forced to learn in order to change her situation. This memoir ends rather abruptly when Angelou is sixteen, so I would definitely be interested in reading her further memoirs and poetry. I'm sure this is just a small taste of her genius.
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