ILS 503-01 Foundations of Librarianship
Report on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
March 24, 2008
In Maya Angelou’s
first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she recounts her years growing up as an African
American girl in the United States during the Depression and post World War II.
In sharing her life, Ms. Angelou gives first-hand accounts of racism, feelings
of displacement, and her rape by her mother’s boyfriend when she was eight
years old. Because of these and other topics, Caged Bird has been consistently challenged and appears on the American
Library Association’s list of the 100 Most Frequently
Challenged Books of 1990-2000 (ALA,
n.d.). The title is derived from a stanza in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, Sympathy, first published in 1899 (PotW.org, 1996). Dunbar was
the first African-American to achieve national recognition as a poet. His
poetry was well received by both White and African-American readers as he was
able to write in the vernacular of both audiences (The Ohio Historical Society,
1996-2008). Like the poem, the book speaks to the disenfranchised.
“It was
the same old quandary. I had always lived it. There was an army of adults,
whose motives and movements I just couldn’t understand and who made no effort
to understand mine”.
The young Maya states
what many young adults and displaced people feel when forced to live in a
society within in which they do not have a voice. Her statement in Chapter 23
after the Mayor spoke at her graduation, “It was awful to be Negro and have no
control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit
quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of
defense”. Anyone who feels a lack of self-determination and not being part of
the larger society understands the pain she felt after hearing the speech.
Whether when the book was published in 1969 or now, women and young adults of
every race, creed, and color identify with her frustration and use her voice to
demand recognition and validation. Now as then, the establishment,
uncomfortable with the subject matter, seeks removal of the book from required
reading lists.
Where do I fit in? Why was
I separated from my parents? Don’t they love me? Teenagers can identify with
these self-recriminations. Her vivid descriptions of sexual abuse, rape, and
the subsequent murder of her Mother’s boyfriend are reasons Caged Bird is challenged. One parent’s removal request stated,
“It seems as if some Hamilton High School teachers are intent on removing
whatever shreds of innocence our children have left." This even after their
child was given an alternative. The school board kept the book in the
curriculum and as one student put it, "If [students] are not responsible
enough to read this book, that is a problem with their parents.…This should not
be something before our school board today."(People For the American Way
(PFAW), 2003), The scenes are disturbing as the reader
experiences the degradation and fear first-hand. However, depending on the
maturity of the reader, these events could provide the basis for candid
conversations about sexual abuse and rape. One 11th Grade English teacher opted
to read the book out loud in class. She reported her students’ lively debate on
the relativity of the scene within the story and Ms. Angelou’s life with no
objectionable reactions (Coeyman, 1998).
Another of the main reasons cited to remove Caged
Bird from library shelves is racism. Since
1983, the Alabama State Textbook Committee accused it of encouraging
"bitterness and hatred toward white people and encourages deviant behavior
because of references to lesbianism, premarital sex and profanity." Not
all schools removed the book from their classes and libraries (The File Room,
n.d.). In Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 2006, the Superintendent of Schools
removed the book from ninth-grade English classes after a few parents called
the book "trash" and "anti-White”. One parent supporting its
banning stated, "It is perfectly understandable for it to be anti-White,
because it was written in 1969....(Angelou) portrays White people as being
horrible, nasty, stupid people....and I don't appreciate being portrayed that
way..." (“Maryland”, 2006). Ms. Angelou’s description of the
“powhitetrash” girls’ actions towards her grandmother illustrates her
understanding of the relationship that blacks were below “powhitetrash” which
were below whites in the South. However, her grandmother shows her character by
not reacting to the girls. Additionally, during the revival meeting in Chapter
18, the minister’s sermon to all religions under the one tent preaches that
charity does not mean “because I pays you what you due, you got to call me
master”. This is the basis of many civil rights movement speeches. It is
especially heart wrenching to read the description of the African American
community in the Store listening to Joe Louis become the Heavy Weight Boxing
Champion of the world. However, the crowd is unable to walk home at night in
rural the South for fear of lynching. Although these events happened in the
1930’s, they resound for the displaced and disenfranchised to claim their right
in the society.
Ms. Angelou’s difficult life events can be
distressing and have a powerful effect on a reader of any age. However, should
this book be banned? The First Amendment forbids the United States Congress to
restrict freedom of speech or press. Did our forefathers intend to include
school and library boards? Many teachers encourage parental participation with
their children’s education. In fact, the National Council of Teachers of
English (NCTE) recognizes that parents have a right to choose what their
children will not read. So that parents know when to select an alternate book,
NCTE recommends a book discussion before book selection with special
consideration of controversial material. Does that mean an appropriate or
correct action for one child appropriate for all children? Since the 1990’s,
United States populace has reflected the Government’s conservative leanings. In
1995-96, the Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act (PRRA) went before
Congress. The Act is a product of the Christian Coalition's “Contract with the
American Family” stating that a parent has the fundamental right to direct the
upbringing of their children (PFAW, 1998) Many municipalities had and have
mechanisms in place to allow a family to “opt out” of a sex or AIDS education
class as well as specific activities or assignments that conflict with their
religious beliefs. Although PRRA has yet to be passed, many challenges and
requests for banning books use PRRA as a cornerstone. Parents Against Bad Books
in Schools (PABBIS) was established in 2001 in Virginia with the purpose to
request that parental consent be giving up front to allow a parent to “opt in”
or “opt out” (PFAW, 1998). Their website states its goal is to educate other
parents on “bad books” and to remove them from school libraries. Although PABBIS
doesn’t define “bad”, there is a list of questions from which parents can
determine a book’s appropriateness for their child (PFAW, 2003). A similar
organization in Kansas, Citizens for Literary Standards in Schools
(ClassKC.org), encourages “the public schools to help our children develop a
love of reading and gain a rigorous literary education through excellent
literature choices”. Since 2005, Caged Bird has been one of fourteen books ClassKC.org seeks to
replace with equal material because it contains obscenities, vulgar language,
or sexually explicit material (ClassKC.org, 2004-05). In an interesting
perspective supporting book challenges, Bob Simons, president and founder of
conservative Christian groups, National Association of Christian Educators and
Citizens for Excellence in Education, states "when schools and librarians
remove books [such as "politically incorrect" books], it's called
deselection. When we object to a book, it's called censorship. Where's the
fairness in that?” (Goodale, 1996). However, his quote for the endorsement of
literature that "supports the good, healthy, positive side of life.
Characters, like Maya Angelou's. If you actually read some of her stuff, only a
depraved mind would write it." could be perceived as undermining his
argument. Although uncomfortable to read, the characters in Caged
Bird are not fictitious and told from her
perspective. I can understand parents want to protect their child. However
children are exposed to many of these facts of life on a daily basis.
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References
Angelou
book attacked in Wisconsin. (Nov 24, 2006). UPI News Track, p. NA. Retrieved March 9,
2008, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS
American
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Books Week. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=archive&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&ContentID=16818
American Library Association. (2007). The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990 – 2000. Retrieved March 1, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm
Back to School with the Religious Right. Censorship (2003) Retrieved
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Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www.classkc.org/review.php?book=I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings
Coeyman,
Marjorie. (May 19, 1998) Teachers Tackle 'Uncomfortable' Books Head On. The Christian
Science Monitor. May 19, 1998 edition.
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Maya
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Parental Rights Issues Raised by the Parental Rights Initiatives. Challenges to Curriculum Opt Out vs. Opt In. (1998). People for the American Way. Retrieved March 17, 2008 from http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1998
Poem
of the Week. (1996). Dunbar, Paul Laurence. Sympathy. Retrieved March 10, 2008 from http://www.potw.org/archive/potw219.html
“"The
Chocolate War" tops 2004 most challenged book list." American
Library Association. 2005. http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2005/februarya/2004mostchallengedbook.htm
(Accessed 19 Mar,
2008)
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County Board of Education. (2008) May 22, 2007 Board Meeting Minutes.
Retrieved March 17, 12008 from http://www.wcpss.net/Board/minutes/2007.html