Oppression
The poem describes the oppression of the African people through slavery. When Europeans arrived in Africa, Africans were killed, enslaved, and forced to adopt new religious beliefs and ways of life. Women were raped and bore slavemasters’ children, losing the right to govern their own bodies. Men and women were forced into slave labor and were considered chattel. Slavery turned Africans into property, stripping them of their humanity and cultural identity as many were forced to leave their native land.
Resistance and the resilience of black people
As in many of her other poems, Angelou demonstrates and celebrates the human will to survive. In “Africa,” the people resisting oppression are specifically African men and women. They are fighting to survive—in a physical sense as well as emotionally and spiritually. Angelou illustrates the resilience of black people, beginning with her African ancestors. If Africans are able to rise above pain and oppression, then African-Americans—their descendants—will have the power to do the same. Courage and strength are the very fabric of their existence. The resilience of Africans during slavery foreshadows the strength and power of civil rights activists who transformed America in the 20th century.
Female power
Angelou’s poems often feature a powerful female figure, and this poem is no exception. In this case, the continent of Africa is personified as a woman—beautiful and vulnerable, sad and powerful. While Angelou describes the plight of all African people—both male and female—she interestingly chooses to describe the continent as a woman. This is likely a reference to the idea of a “motherland,” as well as a nod to the strength of the female spirit. As a woman births a child, a land births its people and traditions. And just as a woman defends and protects her child, a land defends and protects its people and way of life.
