Set in the 1930s, I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS begins as two black children are sent to live with their stoic but caring grandmother in Arkansas. Maya and her brother witness firsthand the horrors of racism. But they also run into people like Rose Flowers, a schoolteacher who inspires them to develop their talents. In Maya's case, that talent is writing. One day, their philandering daddy comes and takes them to St. Louis, where they meet their flashy mother Vivian (Diahann Carroll) and their imperious Grandmother Baxter (Ruby Dee). Their mother's boyfriend, Freeman, rapes young Maya, and when Maya identifies him, her uncles kill the man. Traumatized by the lethal power of her words, Maya refuses to speak again. The children are sent back to Arkansas, where Rose convinces Maya that her voice must be heard. At her graduation, Maya gives an exhilarating valedictory speech.