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Graduation, By Maya Angelou

867 Words4 Pages

What a World we Live In

"Graduation," Maya Angelou's powerful essay, reveals how racial injustice in the US persists. Her powerful narrative made me contemplate race and how I benefit from being white in a culture that frequently discriminates. This essay describes my quest to comprehend, empathize, and support racial fairness. I want to demonstrate the relevance of reading narratives that challenge us and make us partners in making the world a better place by explaining how Angelou's work transformed me. I will make sure the emotional factor is abused considering how effective this story was for me, it really hit me what past generations from color have gone through and experienced. It honestly saddens me but there's always hope the world will improve. …show more content…

I still feel empathy and enlightenment from Angelou's story. My childhood was privileged. My family resided in a quiet neighborhood with many options but no variety. It fostered self-satisfaction and relaxation. Angelou's remarks helped me realize my racial and upbringing privilege. In "Graduation," Angelou recalls the moment she realized the world was unjust to Black Americans. She confronted racial inequality in America despite her academic success. That saddened and enlightened me. I never imagined race would devalue my achievements. I felt Angelou's pain as I continued reading her story further. Her problem was unjust, and I felt deeply for her. Her solution to overcome obstacles surprised and moved me. I examined my life and how I may have sustained racial inequity after developing empathy. I decided to speak up on racial issues because my silence was involved with the problem. I can not stay quiet, not anymore. Here in Paraguay it's the same thing, being Paraguayan in the United States is viewed as being homeless. As absurd as it sounds, we do not

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By alluding to how the white kids would become “Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gaugins,” rather than just saying that the white kids would become legends, Angelou shares her knowledge and proves how she is just as worthy as becoming someone great. While singing the songs of pride to the Negros, Margaret realizes that she is proud of who she is and realizes that she should not throw away the efforts of “Black, known and unknown poets” whose “auctioned pains sustained [them]”. By stating that Blacks had sacrificed their lives for her happiness, she is maturing because she is grateful for what has been done for her to be able to succeed regardless of any obstacles. The little Margaret has changed and has become a matured, angelic poet who is proud to be able to graduate into the Negro

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