Imagine being a young black girl growing up in Stamps, Arkansas in the '30s. Back then, white people discriminated against blacks all the time. Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, experienced this feeling every day as a child. The title itself is a metaphor in which the cage represents the oppression, and the bird represents the black people. She also expresses this through the dedication of the book to her son. African Americans felt like caged birds because of the oppression. However, the bird still sings not out of happiness but instead out for survival. Their songs help them to maintain their identities.
             Maya dedicated this book to her son and her people. She emphasizes the dedication to the birds who "defy the odds and gods"; this statement is about how the black people overcame the oppression and the treatment the received from white folks. "...and sing their songs" isn't talking about singing songs, it's about how the black people didn't let the obstacles control their lives. Joe Lewis is an example of an African American who overcomes the obstacles in his life. It was an important event when he won the fight because so many people were going against him. It went against all the odds when he won.
             In the dedication, African Americans symbolize the strong black birds of promise. During the '30s black people were treated unfairly by white people; because of this, they weren't allowed to drink at the same fountains, eat at the same restaurants, or use the same restrooms. Maya referred to her people as "folks" , but since this is so common she felt she had to call whites "whitefolks". "These others, the strange pale creatures that lived in their alien unlife, weren't considered folks. They were whitefolks."(26)
             The oppression the black race went through during these times were mainly caused by white people. The whit...