Maya confronts the insidious effects of racism and segregation in America at a very young age. America in the 1930s and 40s was inundated with racism. Not only were black people segregated against, they were ill-treated and disrespected as humans. Maya, growing up in such an unhealthy environment, was overtly discriminated on a personal and social level. Racial stereotypic stigma of the role of a black person and their 'lesser than human' image is exemplified within the text. Racism not only hinders her growth as a person, but prohibits her ability to identify herself as an individual. The constant bombardment of segregation demeans Maya. The unjust social realities confine, and belittle Maya as an individual. She comes to learn how the pressures of living in a profoundly racist society have extensively shaped the character of her family members, and she strives to surmount them. By embracing this strong racial identity, Maya liberates herself.
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"A light shade had been pulled down between the Black community and all things white, but one could see through it enough to develop a fear-admiration-contempt for the white “things”—white folks’ cars and white glistening houses and their children and their women. But above all, their wealth that allowed them to waste was the most enviable." |