Throughout I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, racism is a frequent obstacle that non-whites have had to overcome. When Maya is young, she doesn't recognize racism and discrimination like her grandmother does. As Maya grows older, she begins to recognize and pay attention to racism and discrimination against herself and African Americans everywhere. Maya may not recognize racism and discrimination very well at her young age, but it still affects her outlook on life in the same way it would if she had recognized it. The racism and discrimination that Maya faced during I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings affected her attitude, personality, and overall outlook on life in a positive way. Although Maya is young, she notices the impudence of white people but does not always recognize it as racism, and it has influenced her attitude towards her life. She is taught to understand that white people don't like black people; the white race is evil. While he can understand this and understand how to obey white people, he doesn't understand the reasoning behind it. For example, when the young white girls tease Mom in front of the store, Maya cries behind the door because she can't understand why they are so mean, especially since Mom hasn't done anything bad to them. Maya says, "I wanted to throw a handful of black pepper in his face, throw lye at him, scream that they were dirty, slimy peckerwood, but I knew I was as clearly imprisoned behind the scene as were the actors outside." to their roles” (Angelou, 25). Maya couldn't understand why the girls were teasing Mom or why Mom made no attempt to get away from them. For her, this event was an act of hatred and jealousy, not of racism and discrimination. Another… middle of paper… and facing the sexism, racism and discrimination in the book. Through hatred, discrimination, sexism, racism, and everything in between, Maya triumphs and brings hope not only to herself, but to the black race as a whole. It brings hope that all Black people are capable and that having persistence and dedication pays off in the end. He recognizes the injustices and, instead of letting them negatively impact his life, he positively impacts his life through the injustices. Maya's journey through the book is one of true strength and empowerment. He fought racism, even when he didn't understand what it was. Discrimination toughened her up before she graduated from eighth grade. He turned hatred into motivation and ambition. The racism and discrimination that Maya faced during I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings positively affected her attitude, personality, and overall outlook on life..