I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

She held the back door open for me. “Twenty years. I wasn't much older than you. My name used to be Hallelujah. That's what Ma named me, but my mistress give me ‘Glory’ and it stuck. I likes it better too.” I was in the little path that ran behind the houses when Miss Glory shouted, “It's shorter too.”

Maya was a maid for the rich, racist Mrs. Cullinan in the South. The white ladies changed Maya (Marguerite)'s name to Mary because they thought her name was too long. Maya smashes fine china in retaliation. The legacy of name changing is something to keep in mind-- nothing is without historical context. Also fuck name changers.