May the Lord forgive us and may the gods be with us

In Amy Tan's "Fish Cheeks", her mother states that "Your only shame is to have shame". While it may seem like Mrs. Tan is delivering an inspiring message to her daughter: don't be afraid to be yourself, one might take it's meaning as "one is only guilty if they feel guilty". This mindset draws parallels to Gary Soto's childhood. Fully aware of the consequence of his actions- knowing "enough about hell to stop" him from stealing, Soto still enjoys the profits of his sin by eating the "best thing [he] had ever tasted". Soto is not willing to share with Cross-eyed Johnny because Johnny's presence does not invoke guilt into Soto, and as a result, Soto feels like he hasn't even stolen in the first place. Only when faced with the thought of his mother knowing of his thievery does his "stomach taut" with imagined angels attempting to flee his now-conscious "bad deeds".

In Sherman Alexie's piece, his father ironically "Goes to war for peace". A criticism for the seemingly hypocritical actions of the hippie movement, Alexie's father's iconic actions represent the split realities of every situation. To many, Alexie's father was courageous for fighting for what he believed in, against an organization that seemed so powerful yet so corrupt at the same time. To others, his father was a violent druggie, looking to harm an upright officer merely trying to do his job, and protect the peace. While Alexie's father may have had justification for his actions, making him "unguilty", action was still taken upon him, giving him jail time. With a legal system built entirely upon the notion of being innocent until proven guilty, justness is entirely subjective.

Based on the way we were branded

A motif that Angelou integrates seamlessly into her story is that of slavery. Whether it be when Carnera is "raining the blows on Louis" like the striking of a whip, or when the masses are huddle together, listening intently to "their 'Master's Voice'", Angelou recreates the pressure of 200 years of oppression without even mentioning it (Angelou 90). Angelou does this as a subtle way to continually reintroduce the idea of black discrimination in a deeper context, while not-so-subtly giving examples on a surface level:  "another lynching... a white woman slapping her maid for being forgetful" (Angelou 90).

Another creator whose work frequently contains the subject of racism and black oppression is Kanye West. While this may seem surprising, many of West's works regard the treatment of African-American's in historical and modern America. Having been raised in the "era when/Clean water was only served to the fairer skin" , West sounds off about racism in many of his songs, so much so that he is called racist himself by some critics.

While it seems like a facetious comparison, drawing similarities between producing rap songs and writing poetic novels about the injustices against one's race, both artists are simply trying to raise awareness on a social issue that is extremely important to them- using their art as a platform.
Both have received continual backlash for their "controversial" work; West has received criticism from music and non-music critics alike, while Angelou's book has been censored and banned countless times. Society seems almost backwards when the oppressed are silenced while trying to address their silencing.