"‘Thou shalt not be dirty’ and ‘Thou shalt not be impudent’ were the two commandments of Grandmother Henderson upon which hung our total salvation." Momma is a very ‘correct’ Black woman, and is highly respected in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya describes her as a very ‘proper, dominant, and religious woman’ and ‘Her world was bordered on all sides with work, duty, religion and "her place".’ Grandmother Henderson never shows her affection for Maya and Bailey, but Maya has no doubt that she loves them dearly. It is clear from how Angelou writes about Momma, that she will tolerate no misbehaviour or general impudence.

In chapter five, the poor White people in Stamps, whom most Blacks called the ‘Powhitetrash’, taunt Momma and attemt to compromise all of her beliefs. When the Powhitetrash come to the Store owned by Annie Henderson, she remains dignified and neither bows to snide comments, nor react to their taunts. It annoys Maya how these people, although Maya cannot bring herself to think of them as people, who live on Momma’s land can come to the Store and act as if they were superior beings. On the other hand, Momma does not allow them to torment her. I have little doubt that Momma’s coolness irritates the Powhitetrash children as much as it does Maya. As a result of this, I feel that to vindicate Momma the three White girls seized the opportunity to tease Momma, while she sat in the front yard. Momma, having seen the white girls coming towards the store, told Maya to go inside and proceeded to ‘moan a hymn’. As the girls approached the store they are laughing, giving me the impression that they are plotting something.

When the White girls were standing on the freshly raked yard, they began to compete with one another to see who could ‘ape’ Mrs. Henderson best - ‘Naw, you can’t do it. Your mouth ain’t pooched out enough. It’s like this.’ Not only do the girls humiliate Momma by imitating her actions, but also call her by her first name, something that Maya would never dream of saying to an older person. After this one of the girls does a handstand to reveal her ‘slick pubic hair’. Throughout the ordeal, Momma keeps singing, without changing her form or singing style. I think that the whole incident is an example of Momma’s principles and Christian beliefs being compromised by the Powhitetrash to shock Momma. To begin with, the girls are dirty. Every aspect of their appearance is dirty, ‘The dirt of the girls’ cotton dresses continued on their legs, feet, arms and face to make the all of a piece.’ This combined with their rudeness and impudence is the exact opposite of what Momma believes Maya and Bailey should be. I feel that this was the essence of the ‘battle’; the Powhitetrash girls trying to agitate Momma to provoke an inappropriate response from Grandmother Henderson.

By behaving in such an insolent and disrespectful way, the White girls do not remain dignified. Momma, however, by ignoring the actions of the girls does remain dignified. In this sense, the girls' attempts to rock Momma from her beliefs are thwarted. The goading by the girls does not affect Momma and I feel this is how Momma wins the battle. The whole reason for the teasing is overcome by Momma’s humbleness. Momma really has the power in this situation, as she owns the land on which the girls live and is highly respected within the community, whereas they have little standing. In short the battle was about authority and attempting to impose oneself upon another person; it was a contest because neither Momma nor the girls were prepared to compromise their roles; and it was won by Momma as she was able to keep her dignity and pride while the Powhitetrash girls do not.