An old iron weight on black thorns beside a small red knitted mitten against a dark red background.

Original artwork, not a still

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes

Maya Angelou

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker describes prejudice as a weight carried through life. It muddies understanding of what came before, endangers what lies ahead, and blocks the present from being truly experienced. Prejudice is presented as damaging across all three stretches of time.

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