Because Angelou´s self-confidence and her feisty approach to life might seem like not good qualities for a black woman in the eyes of those who are racist and/or against the human rights of women and African Americans.
Explanation:
Maya Angelou´s poem titled "Still I Rise" is an ode to the resilience of those who suffer oppression. Angelou was a civil rights activist whose poetry often referred to blackness and black womanhood, so it´s likely that this poem is a critique of anti-black racism.
When she asks if her sassiness might upset some people, she uses irony to reflect her disdain for what the white man thinks of her. She repeatedly describes herself as behaving like someone with lots of money and power would, and since she´s a black woman, she knows there are people who won´t like that. So her question is actually a provocation: she couldn´t care less about offending that kind of people.
