BADASS WOMEN IN HISTORY SERIES

Shards of Disappointment of Maya Angelou

Exploration into the life of Maya Angelou, part 6

Picture of Maya Angelou reading a magazine courtesy of National Monitor

After she was traumatized and disheartened from the blatant racism of Stamps Arkansas, Maya Angelou once again found herself washed up on the unforgiving shores of San Francisco. All at once, she realized that there was no home for her in the Deep South.

Rural White America made it plain that they had no use for a young black woman who dared to stand up against dehumanizing rudeness and disrespect. It would not tolerate uppity assertiveness from a demographic of people that had once been enslaved with little to no human rights other than what their owners allowed them.

One hundred years had not passed yet since the abolition of the institution of slavery and most parts of the country hadn’t moved any further forward in mindset.

It’s as if they still resented it.

Picture of Maya Angelou singing courtesy of Inspirational Feed

Seething rage

Every time a white person saw a black person on the street, in the store, at the bank, or in the park enjoying some of the same rights and privileges, they were reminded of how things used to be and longed for the “good old days” of free labor beaten from the black bodies they used to see as property. They wished that they could “Make America Great Again,” but alas!

Things had changed.

Instead of moving forward and bettering themselves, they dedicated themselves to the torture and anguish of black people they deemed a threat to their social order and standing.

Black men could be accused of any crime and a mob of white supremacists and miscreants would eagerly show up to exact swift vigilante justice as they saw it, and if they couldn’t get at you, they went after your family and friends.

Hell!

Why not just attack the entire black section of town for good measure, just to increase the odds of getting back at the offending individuals?

Picture of Maya Angelou singing from Fahrenheit Magazine courtesy of National Women’s History Museum

Tough love

Granny Annie Henderson tried slapping these facts into Maya’s head that one fateful day. Not only was Maya at risk of reprisals for talking back to the white store clerk but the entire family as well as the entire black community in Stamps was in danger.

Granny had lived with these grueling facts every day of her life. She had seen firsthand the devastation that was left in the wake of the white man’s rage. She saw the after affects of white grievance when a black man dared to stand for his rights and demand dignity and respect from his white neighbors. She witnessed the hangings, stabbings, shootings and burnings. The stuff nightmares are made of. These were mostly stories to Maya, who hadn’t experienced these horrors herself

Grannie Annie had lived it…

Breathed it…

Tasted of the bitter fruit.

She hadn’t meant to be cruel. In her own way, Granny was sparing Maya this reality.

Army tryouts

Now, Maya must start over, and what better way to start over and perhaps see the world than by joining the army. As she sat in the recruitment office in San Francisco, she pondered the choices before her. She wasn’t married, but she also checked off that she had no children in the personal data section. After her exam, she was told that she would need dental work done but the Army would pay for all of that.

After the four day waiting period for the VD tests to come back, she got a call from headquarters informing her that she had been accepted and that she should prepare to leave Fort Erie Virginia that May. She wondered how her son Guy would take the long absence. He was now becoming aware of those around him, and was able to tell when Maya would come in or was gone. He seemed most pleased in his own company. Most likely he was an introvert.

She spent her days boxing up her books and her belongings. All of her clothing was to be donated to various hospitals and organizations that dealt with the poor and impoverished.

Picture of Maya Angelou in a dramatic moment from One Minute Blogger courtesy of G Paul Bishop

Pins and needles

A week before she was to leave, the recruitment office called and ordered her to report to the office in the morning over a discrepancy on her documents. Had she been found out? She thought she had been caught having a child after marking down that she had none.

With fear and trepidation, she arrived and was at once confronted with her enrollment in the California Labor School which had ended up on the black list of the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Maya had gotten a scholarship and studied dance and drama there for two years at the tender age of fourteen, but apparently the school had been accused of being a Communist Organization and that’s all it took.

McCarthyism struck.

All at once, her hopes and dreams were dashed to pieces once again. Her hopes of making her mark and improving her lot in life seemed up and smoke.

Thanks for reading🌺

For further reading:

• Gather Together in My Name, 1974 Maya Angelou
• The Turmoil of Maya Angelou (part 1 of this series)
• The Epiphany of Maya Angelou (part 2)
• Just a Little Respect (part 3)
• Going Back Across the River Jordan: Maya’s Homecoming (part 4)
• Maya Angelou’s Wake Up Call (part 5)

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