Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was nominated for a National Book Award, yet in 1995 it topped the list of books most frequently challenged in schools and libraries. This interdisciplinary collection of documents and commentary explores the historical and social context, as well as the contemporary issues and controversies raised by Angelou's autobiography. A rich resource for teachers and students, it will help to enhance the reader's understanding of the historical and social forces that shaped Maya Angelou's experience—race relations in the pre-civil rights South, segregated schools, the African American church, and the African American family. It also examines the issue of childhood sexual abuse, the inclusion of which has been the basis of most of the challenges to the autobiography, and the issue of the work's censorship since its publication. This rich resource begins with a literary analysis of the structure and dramatic elements of Angelou's autobiography, as well as discussion of the genre of autobiography. Subsequent chapters include introductions and documents that provide insight into the topics of race relations, lynchings, and racial etiquette; the education of African Americans in the South in the 1930s (particularly county training schools like the one Angelou attended); the otherworldliness, emotion, and music of the African American church; African American women as nurturers, and the effect of frequent migration on children such as Angelou; information from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect which puts the sexual abuse Angelou experiences in a broader context; and many news stories regarding censorship attempts on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Documents in the work include newspaper articles, interviews and first-person narratives, government documents, excerpts from books and journals, and legal statutes. Study questions, ideas for project topics, and suggested readings conclude each chapter and further enhance the usefulness of this interdisciplinary research tool for students and teachers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction The Journey to Maturity and Self-Esteem: A Literary Analysis of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Violence and Intimidation as a Means of Social Control: A Historical Overview of Race Relations in the South From James P. Comer, "The Dynamics of Black and White Violence From The Mob Still Rides: A Review of the Lynching Record, 1931-1935 From the Arkansas Gazette: "Young Negro Lynched at Lepanto" (1936) and "Negro Lynched by Mob at Crossett" (1932) "Tech 'Er Off, Charlie," in Tom E. Terrill and Jerrold Herisch, eds., Such as Us: Southern Voices of the Thirties (1978) Segregated Schools: An Institutional Method of Social Control From Ina Corinne Brown, National Survey of the Higher Education of Negroes (1942) From Charles S. Johnson, Growing Up in the Black Belt (1941) From U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, "The Public School System of Arkansas" (1923) From Edward E. Redcay, County Training Schools and Public Secondary Education for Negroes in the South (1935) From Charles S. Johnson, Growing Up in the Black Belt (1941) The African-American Church From Harry V. Richardson, Dark Glory (1947) From Charles S. Johnson, Growing Up in the Black Belt (1941) From Ralph A. Felton, These My Brethren: A Study of 570 Negro Churches and 1542 Negro Homes in the Rural South (1950) From James H. Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues: An Interpretation (1972) From U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Religious Bodies: 1936 (1941) The African American Family and Other Role Models From Abram Kardiner and Lionel Ovesey, The Mark of Oppression: Explorations in the Personality of the American Negro (1951) From New York Times: "Thousands in Harlem Celebrate Louis Victory" (1935) From Eva Mueller and William Ladd, Negro-White Differences in Geographic Mobility (1964) Child Sexual Abuse From U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Child Sexual Abuse: Incest, Assault and Sexual Exploitation (1981) Censorship From Attacks on the Freedom to Learn: 1996 Report (1996) From Banned Books Week Resource Guide, 1997 (1997) From Attacks on the Freedom to Learn: 1996 Report (1996) From the [Alabama] Decatur Daily (1995-1996) Bibliographic Essay Chronology of Maya Angelou's Career Index