Graduating from middle school is hard enough, but it's even harder when you're considered a minority. Regardless of race (Hispanic, African American, or Asian), the statistics are stacked against the individual. In Maya Angelou's "Graduation," the protagonist reaches a monumental milestone when she graduates from middle school despite having limited resources, being black, being belittled by a politician, and despite her circumstances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay By virtue, many black schools had limited resources. Unlike Central High School, which had “ivy bushes climbing” the buildings, separate basketball courts, and a baseball field, Lafayette County Training School had none of these. It consisted of a limited baseball diamond and “two buildings. "The situation was so dire that before anyone could borrow one of the few balls he had, the coach had to see the value of a touch of the ball. The situation of the students at Lafayette demonstrated that the two schools were not equal. Things commonly perceived as minor achievements by today's standards were overly celebrated, as the middle school graduate Maya Angelou had a less fortunate life due to the fact that she was black it is no different with Maya Angelou, whose family lived in "Stamps", Arkansas Furthermore, blacks are regulated for manual labor and agricultural jobs because they are perceived as not having the same intellect and skills as the common white man also said that he "had no control over his life". That is until Henry Reed, the valedictorian, began reading the "Negro National Anthem." This shows that it was easy for her to be targeted because of her color. The politician was very motivated to make sure that the children at the Lafayette County Training School knew that they were not as good as everyone else. The politician "exposed" He made their achievement seem like it was nothing. While graduating from middle school may not be the most important thing to everyone, Maya Angelou's friends and family were all supportive, Mr. Donleavy's words showed the exact opposite were "maids and farmers, handymen and laundresses." Which made Maya Angelou feel like everything she had learned and worked on was for nothing. He treated the graduation speech like it wasn't important. Unlike Mr. Donleavy who intended us to hear, Maya Angelou was a very successful student. In fact, Maya Angelou was one of the best students in her school. He had "no absences, no tardies" and competed with the class valedictorian for the "best academic work" of the year amount of self-esteem, in addition to achieving such a great achievement, being one of the top students, the graduation ceremony it meant a lot to her. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, her moment of joy and happiness was ruined by Mr. Donleavy. At the end of the story, even though she was knocked down, she managed to regroup with the help of Henry Reed. Even though she was above average, it took her until the end of writing to be proud of her race. Remember: this is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Maya Angelou made a huge achievement when she graduated despite being, belittled, disadvantaged,.