Racial Differences In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The twentieth century is known as a period in America where racial segregation was at its peak. Often, it was the African American population who suffered the most from such problems, ranging from divided schools, restaurants etc. to discrimination in the court of law. During this time period, several attempts were made in order to remove this inequity from American society, including protests, rallies, and speeches. Eventually, by the 1960’s it was made make clear to the general public that there were serious issues pertaining to this minority population. In the novels To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Death of Innocence by Mamie Till-Mobley, two main characters share a struggle in regards to the racial indifference that comes with the …show more content…
Often, their skin color was the only evidence a jury needed to determine a verdict, usually resulting in “open-and-shut” cases. Even knowing this, both characters diligently defended their clients, ignoring the backlash that would emerge from doing so. Atticus, for example, stood against most of the town in Tom Robinson’s trial. Multiple white witnesses testified against Tom during the trial (A white man’s statement held more influence than vice versa), yet Atticus demonstrated his innocence, even if he knew the outcome. Mamie in comparison, attended her son’s trial while she continued to give speeches and promote her son. She chose to stand up in front of her son’s killers when she knew hostility would result from doing so (with her life possibly in danger), and that required courage. Both characters were aware that their actions would have little effect in their time periods, but their boldness allowed them to be able to do so in the first place and create a foundation for civil rights in the …show more content…
An example of this can be reputation, where Atticus and Mamie Till both had suffered tarnished reputations. Atticus defending Tom Robinson in the first place did not sit well with a large portion of Maycomb’s residents. Rumors spread, and soon enough the Finch family was under scrutiny for Atticus’ defense. A point was reached where Atticus’s daughter Scout encountered a schoolmate who criticized her saying “…that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers.” (Lee 74). A similar case can be said for Emmet Till. Emmet’s mother continuously went out of her way to bring meaning to his life. She would not let him become a memory and wanted people to know him as a person - not a “statistic”. In doing so, she was risking her reputation for being outspoken about the murder, given that it was not common for an African American to speak publicly about such a sensitive topic. These actions from both characters truly emphasized their courageous personalities and how they implemented it in order to help
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