Getting a high school diploma is hard enough, but it's even harder when you're considered a minority. Regardless of a person's race, rather Hispanic, African American, or Asian, the statistics are stacked against the individual. In "Graduation" by Maya Angelou, the main character reaches a monumental milestone when she graduates from high school despite having limited resources, being black, being demeaned by a politician, and despite her circumstances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayUnder virtue, many schools for blacks had limited resources. Unlike Central High School, which had "climbing ivy bushes" on buildings, separate basketball courts and a baseball field, Lafayette County Training School had none. It consisted of a limited baseball field and "two buildings". "The situation was so dire that before anyone could borrow one of the few footballs they had, the coach had to consider it worth touching the ball. The situation the Lafayette students found themselves in showed that the two schools were not equal. Things generally seen as a minor achievement in today's standards were over-celebrated, like getting a high school diploma Maya Angelou had a life. less fortunate due to the fact that she was black It is common knowledge that minorities dominate the low-income household rankings. This is no different with Maya Angelou whose family lived in "Stamps", Arkansas. Additionally, black people are limited to manual labor and agricultural jobs because they are perceived as not having the same intelligence and abilities as the ordinary white man. She even mentioned that she "had none. control over his life. This set the tone for the latter part of the writing as it shows that she has truly let go of what was such a huge accomplishment before. That was until Henry Reed, the valedictorian. , began to read the "Negro national anthem". "This shows that it was easy for her to be harassed because of her color. The politician was very determined to make sure that the children at the Lafayette County Training School knew that they were not as good as everyone else The politician "denounced" He made it seem like their achievement was nothing Although getting a high school diploma may not be the most important thing to. everyone, Maya Angelou's friends and family all supported her. Mr. Donleavy's words showed exactly the opposite they were "maids and farmers, handymen and washerwomen." the feeling that everything she had learned and worked on had been for nothing. He treated the graduation speech like it didn't matter. Contrary to what Mr. Donleavy wanted us to feel, Maya Angelou was a very successful student. In fact, Maya Angelou was one of the best students in her school. She had “no absences, no lateness,” and she competed with the class valedictorian for “best academic work” of the year. great self-esteem, as well as having achieved such a great accomplishment, being one of the top students, the graduation ceremony meant a lot to her. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, her moment of joy and happiness was ruined by Mr. Donleavy. At the end of the story, even though she was beaten down, she managed to pull herself together with the help of Henry Reed. Even if she was..