BADASS WOMEN IN HISTORY SERIES
Going Back Across the River Jordan: Maya’s Homecoming
Exploration into the life of Maya Angelou, part 4
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The goose is cooked.
You better not drive that car again. I’ll have the Vice Squad on your ass. -Gather Together in My Name pg. 227.
Those were the last words ever spoken to Maya as she fled the house of ill repute. A house that was now in Maya’s name thanks to her ingenuity and side hustle in the dark seedy world of prostitution. Well, that’s gratitude for you. Maya had organized this enterprise of prostitution which had been the benefit of all parties involved. What started as a vendetta for ill-treatment turned out to be a profitable venture even for these two white racist and cantankerous lesbians.
They have names, but I will continue to refer to them as Maya did. They don’t deserve to be remembered or respected in my not so humble opinion.
Those two were on the verge of losing their house when they met Maya and now they not only had enough to keep their house but they had extra furniture and extra spending money.
They couldn’t help themselves. They had to shoot their one and only golden goose because they couldn’t stand the fact that a black woman was not only smarter than they were, but their only means of support was this venture.
Literally green with envy, they couldn’t bring themselves to follow direction. Too haughty and too proud, they ended up only hurting themselves.
Flight into the night.
Because of the fear of being turned over to the police, Maya came to the realization that her only escape was back to Stamps Arkansas, the very place she had escaped from. Making it to California was seen as reaching the Promised Land beyond the River Jordan. It was the golden promise of prosperity. It had been within her grasp before it was snatched away in a cruel cosmic joke.
The night of the final confrontation that brought her side hustle to a screeching halt, Maya feverishly packed her bags, grabbed her one-year-old, and made an excuse to her landlady about having to visit her sick mother. She got into her brand-new car and drove to the nearest train station to grab the next train to Arkansas, leaving her car in the parking lot.
Back in Egypt Land
Her arrival back to Grannie’s Store was met with excitement and sadness. Gran was certainly glad to have her back and had prayed fervently for her safe return. Maya had come full circle and didn’t seem to have got any farther than when she first started.
Maya had returned to the rural black community as an unwed teenage mother. The dynamics within the community were interesting to say the least. I’m not sure I have totally wrapped my head in understanding around the dynamics and idiosyncrasies of this community but it seems that age was valued more than wealth and religious piety more than beauty. Maya did not receive any looks of condemnation because of her fatherless child. Her grandmother was known far and wide for her strict adherence to the Bible and Biblical teachings, and by extension, Maya’s proximity to her grandmother provided shield. Maya was unmarried but the fact that she was a mother placed her further into the circle of respect and trust of her community.
The best way I can describe it is: “Loopholes of Acceptance” within a rigid Christian community. It enabled more of their people to maintain and remain in their immediate support systems.
Conclusion:
Maya thought quickly on her feet and didn’t hesitate to enact plan b for any given scenario before things got totally out of control. She thought ahead and planned accordingly if things went awry. She was able to successfully ingratiate herself back into her old community for the sake of her son to ensure he was taken care of.
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