Imagine 74 years ago, an African American just returned from the war walking into a restaurant and not being served due to Jim Crow laws. As a person of color in the 1930s and 1940s, I was afforded little power or even respect. Blacks, especially women, were not given a happy education because it was illegal to acquire and obtain books during this time period (Depression 17). Awarded over fifty honorary degrees, Maya Angelou wrote her best-selling novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Women Memoirist 36). Faced with the dilemma of learning to read and write, you wonder how one of the best African-American authors of all time could thrive under such difficulties. This novel is set in the Deep South, in the midst of the beginning of cultural and political change. Written in 1969, the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is Maya Angelou's most famous novel, profoundly shaped by growing up during the Great Depression, facing racism and discrimination in the South, and enduring sexual and mental abuse. difficult for African Americans during the Great Depression. Very few had jobs, and those who were privileged to have jobs had to give them up to whites who lost them. Many were left homeless and created small shacks which they shared with many other people. There were several boycotts and riots throughout the factories; some lead to violence, such as the burning of a paper factory in St. Louis (Lynch, African American Life). The Great Depression was the result of the stock market crash that occurred on October 29, 1929. Over 50% of the United States was unemployed and couldn't even earn enough to feed their family. Many African-American families, including... half of the paper... however, recognize those who helped them overcome them. Maya Angelou's novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings acknowledges her trials and tribulations as a young African-American girl during the Depression era, where she faced constant struggle with racism, discrimination, and sexual abuse. With the end of this era, many of the cultural struggles she faced as a child also ended. At the beginning of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya was an insecure and out-of-place child, but by the end of the story she has transformed into a humble and loving young woman. These are just some of the influences that Maya Angelou used to complete her autobiography. Many young black girls every day are encouraged by Maya Angelou's novel and embrace their racial uniqueness. Today, Maya Angelou is a powerful and powerful motivator for all black birds, helping them sing their songs.