There are many names of famous people that I have heard most of my life, and I don’t really know that much about them. At least not like you learn when you listen to someone tell the stories of their life. What a special opportunity with an autobiography to hear about someone else’s experiences, thoughts, and growth, in a personal way that allows you to see who they are and why. You get a glimpse of a life outside of your own and I think that fosters compassion and understanding.
As is the case with this first of seven autobiographies by Maya Angelou, which covers her youth up until age 17 when she gives birth to her son. From growing up in a small segregated southern town in the strict home of her grandmother, to the multiple locations of her father and mother’s separated lives, she had quite a lot of diverse experiences. One in particular that caught my ear was the month she lived in an automobile junkyard with an honest and organized group of homeless teenagers. That short amount of time-shifted many of her perspectives and gave her some important lessons. There is just something exciting to me about the idea of such a short amount of time, if spent in the right place with the right people, how that could really change your life. I welcome that kind of influence and adventure.
There are many great quotes in this book. The following is one that stood out as it might be just as relevant now, even though it was referring to people in the 1930’s.
“The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power.
The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.”