“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou is directed towards blacks on how to be proud of their ancestry, themselves, and their overall The poem is a special and motivating poem thatAfrican-Americans (and other races for that matter) should readand take to heart. According to African-Americans, Maya Angeloustates that no matter what white Americans (slave owners) say ordo to African-Americans (slaves) they can still rise up to make abetter life for themselves and their race as a whole.One reason blacks should rise above their oppression is sothey can better themselves and in turn make a better life fortheir next generation, just as their ancestors tried to do.“Bring the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and thehope of the slave” says Angelou is taking the lessons learnedfrom their ancestors and dreaming and hoping to rise aboveslavery. They felt that if they rose above slavery, theirchildren and grandchildren would not have to partake in tortureand pain. White Americans had and still have a differentperception of the previous quote and they feel that what theirancestors had given them will help them to fulfill their dreamsand in doing so slaves would be needed to keep their dream alive.Self love and assurance are also a major component to risingabove others as Maya Angelou explains in her poem. She expressesherself by saying sassiness, which means to talk to someonedisrespectfully, can help a person achieve personal satisfactionthat may help them take on tough situations. Many slave feltintimidated by their masters and they felt that what theirmasters said about them was true and without their masters theywould be in a worse situation.The appearance, shape, and style of an African-American isanother way that whites try to downgrade the African-Americanrace. Many blacks in the past and the presence have a problemwith their shape, hair, and overall appearance due to the waywhites despised their looks. Maya Angel...
