THE CAGED BIRD STILL SINGS

The content of our character goes far deeper than the color of our skin.

When Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream Speech in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963, the Civil Rights Movement was entering its peak. Some 250,000 people present at the March on Washington heard the now-famous words, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Dr. King understood that the content of our character goes far deeper than the color of our skin. Far deeper than any genetic quality we possess. We have no control over our genetic makeup. We are born with it. Skin color, hair color, and eye color are physical traits that have absolutely nothing to do with who we are.

For God shows no partiality.

— Romans 2:11

It is our character that defines us.

Maya Angelou is one of my favorite poets. I had the honor of attending one of her poetry readings and meeting her years ago. I was a new college graduate at the time. It was my first professional job working as the marketing director for the civic center in my hometown that afforded me this honor. It was an honor.

Ms. Angelou possessed a gracious, gentle, and compelling spirit. I will never forget the moment I shook her hand. She was mesmerizing.

As a poet myself, I was in awe of her ability to express such deep and meaningful sentiments with words. Her poetry is filled with life, humanity, and above all, truth.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is still one of my favorites.

Caged Bird holds many meanings, both personal and societal.

On a personal level, we are all caged birds at one time or another in our lives. Shackled by our demons, our desires, and our human frailties.

For many decades, I existed in a cage. One I’d created from the shame, guilt, and misery I’d clung to. In that cage with me were the addiction, the eating disorder, and the self-loathing that came along with them.

I longed for freedom. It would take many years, facing my demons, and trusting in God before I’d finally taste it.

On a societal level, this poem means something different. As human beings, we’re prone to suffering. Both experiencing and inflicting it. Over and over again throughout history, our human frailties have led to so much injustice and destruction.

In this regard, Ms. Angelou’s words describe a caged bird shackled figuratively and literally in a cage not of its own making. It’s to this aspect of her work that I’m inspired to write.

Ms. Angelou rose to prominence during a time of civil unrest in our country.

When Ms. Angelou penned Caged Bird, true segregation and discrimination existed in our country. For her, the caged bird symbolized the journey of her people and their longing for liberty, equality, and freedom in a society that afforded them very little.

The 1960s Civil Rights Movement was a movement toward gaining the equality promised in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. It is during this time that Angelou first published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

The Civil Rights Act, signed into law in 1964, and the Voting Rights Act, signed in 1965, finally brought equality to fruition.

For over six decades now, we’ve lived in a society that has worked hard to maintain that equality. Until now.

It seems we’ve taken a step backward. Equality has now become confused with equity. And thanks to divisive programs like Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project, we’re indoctrinating the current generation to consider race above all else.

The exact thing Dr. King dreamed would end in this country, transforming it into “a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

These programs are designed to create two classes, that of the victim and the oppressor. Both are dangerous and limiting. One connotes failure regardless of how hard you work, while the other points to success at the expense of others.

The defining factor for both is skin color.

That’s such a giant leap backward on the road we’ve traveled for so long. Instead of shrinking the divide between us, it’s widening the rift once again.

We’re all back in that cage.

I have to wonder what Ms. Angelou, were she alive today, would think about this regression.

I imagine she’d be disappointed that the hard work and sacrifices her generation made to advance equality and ensure liberty and freedom have taken such a destructive and divisive turn.

That Dr. King would be equally saddened that skin color is once again the focus. That character, merit, experience, and hard work are being overshadowed, and worse, overlooked.

Until we, as a nation, overturn this tide, and truly embrace character over race, hard work over handouts, and above all compassion over hate, the caged bird will continue to sing.

Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.

— Maya Angelou

JN Fenwick/mothjournal14, ©2025 | All rights reserved.