I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Bailey is Maya’s older brother, one year her senior. Quick-witted and intelligent, he stands out among his peers, and his physical beauty makes Maya question if they are related. Unlike Maya, who is tall and clumsy, Bailey is “small, graceful and smooth” (22), but what the siblings have in common is their love for reading. Bailey is supportive and protective of his sister, and he remains her anchor throughout their turbulent childhood and adolescence.

When at the age of nine, they go to see their mother, Bailey becomes so enchanted with her that he channels all his efforts into winning her love and approval. He is upset and disappointed when soon after they have to return to Stamps and turns his grief into cynicism. Rooted in the world of books, Bailey cannot grasp the racial segregation and unspoken social norms of Stamps, and, fearing for his safety, their grandmother sends the siblings back to California. There, Bailey’s emotions towards his mother are intense, and the two often fight. He eventually moves out of the house and joins the merchant marine. Even during his time at sea, he maintains contact with Maya and supports her throughout her pregnancy. 

Momma, or Mrs. Annie Henderson, is Maya’s grandmother and the only Black entrepreneur of Stamps. She owns the General Store in the Black part of the town, as well as her house and some land, which is highly unusual at that time. Momma Henderson had been married three times, but she takes care of her disabled son and manages her business alone. Dutiful and devout, she is a pillar of a local church community and is widely respected in Stamps. She is acutely aware of the racism prevalent in small Southern towns like hers and chooses the tactics of nonconfrontation, avoiding interactions with the white population as much as possible. Self-reliant and assertive, Momma is strict with Maya and Bailey, but her deep love for them is manifest in her acts of care, as she is not demonstrative with her feelings. When she decides that it is best for Maya and Bailey to leave Stamps, she accompanies them to San Francisco. Momma stays there for six months and adjusts well to life in the big city despite her conservatism, attending church and making new friends. 

Vivian is Maya’s mother, who sent the siblings to live with Momma shortly after divorcing their father. When four years later the children see her again, Vivian’s beauty and nonchalant charm completely captivate them. Although at first Maya finds it hard to connect with Vivian because she can’t forgive her for abandoning them, with time, they develop warm, supportive relationships. Vivian’s glamorous lifestyle contrasts greatly with Momma’s modest behavior, but it fascinates her children, who watch her in awe. With her light-brown skin, white teeth, and red lipstick, Vivian’s beauty stands out, and she usually has many suitors around her. Although trained as a nurse, Vivian works in gambling parlors and enjoys singing and dancing. Described by Maya as “a hurricane in its perfect power” (59), Vivian has a hot temper and once shot a business partner who mistreated her. Despite this, she is caring and loving with her children, and when Maya gives birth to a child, Vivian helps her take care of him. 

Bailey Senior, or Daddy Bailey, is Maya’s father and Momma Henderson’s son. Self-centered and lonesome, he appears only sporadically in his children’s lives. Both Maya and Bailey struggle to connect with him and are disappointed when they see that he is not the father from their fantasies. Tall and handsome, Bailey Senior acts with an air of pomposity and speaks proper English, trying to create an impression of grandiosity. At first, he works as a doorman at a plush hotel in Santa Monica and then in the kitchen of a naval hospital, referring to himself as a dietician for the US Navy. In his own eyes, Bailey Senior never fulfilled his potential, and thus he tries to compensate for it by acting with arrogance and bravado.

Uncle Willie is Momma Henderson’s son and Maya’s uncle. A childhood accident left him disabled, and can walk only with a cane. Uncle Willie is single and lives with his mother in the back of the store, helping her run their business. “Proud and sensitive” (11), he has a heightened sense of dignity and is different from other Black men in Stamps. He is strict with Maya and Bailey, sometimes disciplining them with a whip, but at the same time loving and kind. 

Mrs. Flowers is a resident of Stamps and Momma Henderson’s friend. Cultured and educated, she is “the aristocrat of Black Stamps” (93). Maya admires her proper English and intelligence and sees her as “[their] side’s answer to the richest white woman in town” (93). When Maya refuses to speak to anyone after she is raped, Mrs. Flowers reaches out to her and gently encourages her to read aloud and recite poetry. She introduces Maya to the power of words and slowly opens the world up for Maya again.

Mr. Freeman is Vivian’s boyfriend at the time when the children move back to California after living with their grandmother in Stamps. He works as a foreman at the Southern Pacific Railroad, and when at home, he spends his time waiting for Vivian’s return. Reserved and sinister, he adores Vivian and ignores her children, until he sexually abuses and then rapes eight-year-old Maya. He and Vivian break up before she finds out about his abuse. He is later found murdered. 

Grandmother Baxter is Vivian’s mother and Maya’s grandmother. Raised by a German family in Cairo, Illinois, she is “nearly white” (61), and talks with a thick German accent. She was working as a nurse at a hospital, when she met and married Grandfather Baxter, who is Black. Now they live in St. Louis, where Grandmother Baxter is a precinct leader and has connections with the city’s underworld.

Tutti, Tom, and Ira Baxter are Vivian’s brothers and Grandmother Baxter’s sons. They are gruff and aggressive but protective of their family members. Maya suspects that they killed Mr. Freeman after he was released from jail. The uncles are kind to Maya, and one of them, Tom, assures her that she shouldn’t worry about not being pretty because she is smart. 

Mrs. Cullinan is a wealthy white woman who lives in Stamps and hires Maya as her maid. She comes from a rich Virginian family and acts with arrogance toward her maids. Maya finds her “singularly unattractive until she smiles” (105), and feels bad for the woman because she can’t have children. When Mrs. Cullinan decides to rename Maya Mary for her convenience, the girl rebels and shatters her family china.

Ms. Glory is the cook at Mrs. Cullinan’s house. Her real name is Hallelujah, but Mrs. Cullinan deemed it too long and renamed her Glory. She is a descendant of slaves who had worked for the Cullinan family. Ms. Glory is very patient with Maya, and teaches her everything the girl needs to know about her work duties.

Daddy Clidell is Vivian’s second husband and “the first father [Maya] would know” (208). Composed and kind, he is “a simple man who had no inferiority complex about his lack of education and, even more amazing, no superiority complex because he had succeeded despite that lack” (220). Daddy Clidell owns apartment buildings and pool halls, and thus provides for Vivian and her children. When Maya tells him about her pregnancy, he is supportive.

Miss Kirwin is a teacher at George Washington High School in San Francisco. She is “a tall, florid, buxom lady with battleship-gray hair” (215), who has worked in the school system for over twenty years and loves to share her knowledge with others. Miss Kirwin teaches current events and civics and wins Maya’s affection because she treats her the same as other children.

Mr. Donleavy is a white politician who speaks at Maya’s eighth-grade graduation ceremony. He delivers his speech without looking up at the audience and his message contains remarks, which foreground long-standing discrimination against Black people.

Henry Reed is the valedictorian at Maya’s eighth-grade graduation ceremony. He moves everyone to tears by leading the Black audience in singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Mr. Steward is a former white sheriff of Stamps, a “quiet, bitter man” (17) who informs Momma Henderson that she should hide Uncle Willie from the Ku Klux Klan, who might come in search of a Black man to punish.

Reverend Thomas is the presiding elder of the Baptist church, who comes to visit every three months and stays at Momma’s house. Unattractive and overweight, he annoys Maya and Bailey with his looks and very long prayers. 

Sister Monroe is a parish member who likes to compensate for her absences at church by attracting attention during the services. On Sunday, she comes up to the preacher with the words, "Preach it," and hits him on the head with his teeth so hard that his false teeth fly out. Maya and Bailey, no longer able to control themselves, erupt in laughter, and afterwards receive a severe beating from Uncle Willie for misbehaving at church. 

Dolores is Bailey Senior’s girlfriend who lives with him in a trailer park in southern California. She is small and uninteresting and focuses all her attention on her household duties. Suspecting that Maya wants to ruin their relationship, Dolores picks a fight with her, which ends with her stubbing Maya in the side.

Louise is Maya’s classmate who becomes her first friend in Stamps. Maya admires Louise and finds her “the prettiest female in Stamps, next to Mrs. Flowers” (140).

Joyce is Bailey’s first girlfriend in Stamps. She is fifteen years old and lives with her aunt, who is very poor. “Advanced physically for her age” (147), Joyce initiates Bailey into sex, but then suddenly disappears from Stamps, running away with a train porter.

Tommy is Maya’s classmate who sends her a valentine, revealing his feelings for her.