Question

the writers address you several times in the poem.who is you and how can we tell from the poem i rise by maya angeleous

Answer 1

Maya Angelou is speaking on behalf of all African-Americans in this poem, addressing the white people who have subjugated African-Americans in innumerable ways since they came to this county as slaves.  The poem recounts the damage done, the response of white people who are offended by any African-American insistence on being treated as equals, and the ways in which the African-American will triumph in spite of it all. Let's look at a few passages from the poem to show this.