Summary Of A More Perfect Union By Maya Angelou

We have fought, we have argued, and we have compromised,yet we continue to have racial barriers. Throughout the years racial tensions have altered with the world around us. In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation”, we see her vision of America relating to racial barriers from 1969, in Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” he portrays his visions of America in relation to racial barriers from 2008; although addressing similar topics, Obama’s and Angelou’s visions in which they depict vary immensely. While explaining their visions of racial barriers in relation to unity within America through imagery, powerful syntax, and anecdotes, Angelou and Obama agree upon the segregation barriers, however, their approaches upon changing racial barriers for the sake …show more content…
Angelou portrays a negative spin on her vision with imagery by admitting, ” It was awful to be a negro and to have no control over my life. ...We should all be dead. I thought I should like to see us all dead, one on top of the other. A pyramid of flesh, with whitefolks on the bottom.” (Angelou 29) Angelou immediately succumbs to Donleavy’s speech and immediately releases misguided hatred. Whereas Obama professes positive attributes through his approach, “And I confess if all I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endlessloop on television and Youtube… there is no doubt that I would react the same way.” Obama views the effect the racial barrier of derogatory terms as an issue, but confides to the American people that he can sympathize with their thoughts. Angelou does not attempt to reason past the awfulness of Donleavy’s speech, rather she just wishes mortality among us all, but Obama believes America can rise above the odds and approaches the American racial barrier with ease but determination. Angelou continues to show her ongoing disapproval for those of the white community when she expresses her thoughts that, ”The ugliness left was was palpable. An uninvited guest guest who wouldn’t leave.” (Angelou 29) Angelou is openly stating that she views white folt as guests, inferring they do not belong and she does not welcome them into her community. On the contrary, Obama expresses, ”But the truth is that isn’t all I know of the man. The man I met twenty years ago…” (Obama 651) Obama shows that despite the reverend’s comments he continues to welcome the reverend, because he views America as one. Having a positive approach is Obama’s key to success in effectively breaking down the racial barriers in order to establish