I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Chapter 25 Summary

  • One day, Momma drops a bomb. She tells Maya and Bailey Jr. that they are getting older and that it's time for them to go live with their parents.
  • They call shenanigans on this—there must be some other reason she is sending them away.
  • Ding ding! They're right.
  • About a week earlier Bailey Jr. had come back visibly shaken from doing a chore in the white part of town.
  • Turns out he saw a dead black man who had been killed by white men. A white man also made Bailey Jr. and the other black men around carry the corpse to a police wagon—and then he threatened to lock them up with the corpse.
  • Shortly after, Momma says it is time for them to go. Coincidence? We think not.
  • It takes a while to get the transportation settled, but eventually Momma and Maya leave for Los Angeles.