Abstract

This research work is an important reflection on the author’s position as a black female in the hallmark of AfroAmerican Literature. Maya Angelou as an author defended the black women and their culture in her seven autobiographies while probing her own rather than probing into others. The authoress opines that ‘womanism’ is always the tag of power, strength, reconciliation, strong commitment and comprehending the gender equality notion keeping in view especially the black women. This study has interpreted and analyzed Angelou’s first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings through the textual analysis of autobiographical elements by the application of Michelle M. Lazar’s Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. (YEAR) This research paper highlights the marginalization of black women in the imperialistic society. One of the ways to raise awareness is to focus on the corpus of Black writing and to re-position it within academic core curricula, rather than relegating it to specialized courses.

Key words: Black Feminism, Racial Discrimination, Gender issue, Ethnicity, Womanism