"Champions of the World" by Maya Angelou

DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
TIME: 2:30 p.m.
PLACE: Home Computer

In Maya Angelou' story "Champion of the World", she narrates about a boxing fight that took place when she was a child while working at her uncle's store in the 1930's.

The fight was between African-American Joe Louis v. Primo Carnera. The match was being broadcast by a radio her uncle had at the store.

It brought African-American together as a community. Maya's narration takes the reader to the moment it happened without missing any details.

Since the event took place when there were still racial conflicts against African-Americans, she felt as a major conflict loosing the boxing match. Joe Louis was representing as she describes, all the Negroes around the world.

In one occasion Carnera had Louis against the ropes. It was her people falling, she taught, as she describes in a passage of the story.

At the end Joe Louis won the fight. He had proved to the world, according to Maya, that African-Americans were the strongest people of the world and that had made all his people very proud of their race.