Maya Angelou

In Maya Angelou’s “Champion of the World” a boxing match affects how African- Americans will be treated in society. The story tells of an important fight between a white man vs. a black man and what the outcome means to an African- American community. To Angelou’s community, the fight is much more than winning or losing a boxing match. It is hope that maybe blacks are as good, as or even better than the whites. When Angelou’s race gets to prove that they are humans and should be treated equal, they come together as a community. The community comes together to see if they could actually be as good as or better than the people who oppressed them. One black man, Joe Louis affects the entire African-American race, by fighting a white man. If Joe Louis wins, it would be a huge step for the African- American race. It would be another step closer for whites and blacks being equal. By Joe winning, it gives not just the community but the whole race hope that things will get better. But if he loses, then blacks go further away from being equal to whites. They become what whites want them to be, in slavery, dumb, worthless and ugly. If Joe Louis loses, they still get punished, while also losing pride and hope. The outcome is much more than winning or losing a boxing match, it determines how blacks will be treated. The community is listening to a boxing match that impacts them forever, a social importance. People came together in Maya’s uncle’s store to listen to the only radio for miles around. Even the Christian ladies who would never allow any type of violence was at the store listening. During the time of the fight, all the differences were forgotten. Everybody at the store comes together as one. They are all hoping for the same thing. The community hopes that maybe a black man can defend his title by beating a white man. That maybe by Joe Louis winning this, then things will get better. To just be there at the store listening to fight was important. The fight