After reading "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, listening to two days of testimony at the appeal hearing, reading the questionable coverage given to this controversy by the Annapolis Capital, and after talking to my daughter, who read the book as part of the ninth grade curriculum at Arundel High School, I am convinced that the Taylors are sincere in their religious beliefs.|
Let me be blunt. The book is an excellent piece of writing. After reading just the first few paragraphs of the book, I already had clear images in my mind of the scene being described. I almost immediately developed an emotional attachment to the characters. I cried during parts of the book as the occasionally sad life of Ms. Angelou progressed. And yet the book was surprisingly upbeat. And it is all true! It is an autobiography. Every word of it actually happened. The tears of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were not for Maya, the young black girl, as she struggled with the realities of growing up in the 1930s racist south. Their tears were for words! Mere words! They cried over the words 'rape' and 'titties,' and cried that their children might actually hear about what happened during those days. Maya had to live it. She had to endure it. And the amazing thing is that she, and countless others, survived. Surely this is a book about hope, and triumph over adversity. The Taylors were constantly fumbling, grasping for words, trying to convey their thoughts without actually saying the words. So I will say it for them. The Taylors want to deny the past, to deny the experiences of generations of black Americans. They don't want their children to know that much of our country was built on the backs of black slaves, and on land stolen from native American Indians. In their minds, they aren't racists, because they will accept one black, or maybe even two, as long as they are, essentially, raised white. One of Mr. Taylor's main points was that the book couldn't teach his children lessons about life because the life he wanted for them didn't include rape, violence, and racism. Open your eyes, Mr. Taylor. These things are all around you. We must teach our children, all of our children, how to get along in the global village. You can no longer segregate yourself, bury your head in the sand, and hope that the world will go away. It just won't work anymore. If I had any doubts about the Taylor's racism, they went out the window when Mr. Taylor said maybe the book would be appropriate for educational use in "high crime" parts of the county, and that "I don't want to live in a high crime area, if I can put it that way." No subtlety there. And what about Mr. Taylor's witnesses? I can see having his pastor testify, even though he added nothing of substance to the case, but Mrs. Christene Schwaln destroyed any possible sympathy that might have existed for the Taylors. Mrs. Schwaln cares nothing about the Taylors or the good of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She is a publicity-seeking demagogue, hoping to attract right-wing extremist money from national organizations. This woman didn't argue these issues in her own county. Instead, she kept her son home from school for 80 days "to keep him away from that immoral teacher who taught that rape was OK." Does anyone actually believe that a public school teacher in Montgomery County taught her students that rape is OK? I doubt it. The Taylors have the right to insist that their children not read any particular book, for any reason. They have been very clearly afforded that right by Anne Arundel County. They do not, however, have the right to deny the vast majority of children an essential part of their education. It is as simple as that. |