Thus the racist social values of Maycomb County are responsible for the failure of Atticus Finch’s defense for Tom Robinson. When hate and racism start controlling people, that hate will be factored into each decision they make in life. For example, defending someone who is guilty and criticizing someone who is innocent. As a result of hate and racism controlling the witnesses of the trial, they are another factor that cause Atticus’ defense to fail. There are several characters involved in the justice system of Maycomb County.
Martin Luther King Jr’s main perspective during the fight on racism was equality. At the time in which he fought the crisis of racial inequality a main concern was to address that "white America must assume the guilt for the black man's inferior status" (King, 9) as stated in the reading Racism and the White Backlash. Also Dr. Martin Luther King from my understanding believes reparation in this nation at that time was not the top priority. He could not stress enough about how essential racial equality was for the nation to become solve mainstream crisis during the peak of
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”. This quote reveals that Atticus is mainly focusing on the racial aspect of prejudice as it is the most dominant form of prejudice in TKAM. As well as showing that he understands the ethic of empathy and understanding, that he preaches to Scout and Jem. Atticus also proves how the people of Maycomb do not understand Negros as they have not experienced the abuse that comes with the colour of your skin. In the novel there is also the aspect of classism in prejudice with the hierarchy of families being instilled into the society of Maycomb.
According to Du Bois the prejudices of white people elicit “self-questioning, self-criticism, and lowering of ideals” among black people. The internalization of anti-black sentiment from the outside world thus begins to shape the black American experience. Through the concept double consciousness DuBois becomes better able to explore the social problems he studied in his earlier work “The Philadelphia Negro”. Double consciousness also creates an element of conflict within the black American, as they struggle (often unsuccessfully) to reconcile their identity as a black person and as an American citizen. Dubois cites the example of the black artisan in “The Souls of Black Folk”.
Another thing portrayed prejudice in the novel, is the way whites talk to blacks. "I said come here nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you”(Lee241). Referring to an African American as a "nigger" is completely disrespectful and making them seem like they are lower than the whites are, which is not the case. No person wants to be spoken to in that manner, white or black. This word is used immensely throughout the novel, especially during the trial.
Jim Crow is “the systematic practice of promoting the segregation of the Negro peoples” (North by South). “Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-1960s” (Pilgrim). The Jim Crow Movement was a prominent factor that led to the control of the black population in America. It was a system used to obstruct basic rights for African-Americans. Jim Crow was a way of life, not just a set of unjust laws.
A native son is a product of the violence and racism that suffused the devastating social conditions in which he was raised. By no means does Wright downplay the oppression of blacks by whites, but he does demonstrate that much of the racial inequality was due to the profound lack of understanding, among both blacks and whites, of the other social group. Bigger’s misunderstanding of whites binds him to a self-fulfilling insight, because as he behaves according to what he believes is his racial destiny. An important quote that can describe the racism in the story as well as the racism during that time is when Wright writes, "We live here and they live there. We black and they white."
Maya Thomas Black Power Movement Black Power: Politics of Liberation Kwame Ture and Charles Hamilton began their book, Black Power: Politics of Liberation, with their first contention, that overt and institutionalized racism is rooted in colonialism. Unlike European colonization, here the colonized individuals were imported to these shores. Once emancipated, black people, continue to be colonialized through the manipulation of politics. They go on to elaborate how whites continue to use politics to institutionalize racism in education, voting, housing, jobs and other areas of life. They take the reader through pivotal moments in the South and North to enumerate the chain of events that lead to the achievements and failures of the African-Americans in society.
Appearances and Reality Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are a multitude of examples of prejudice. These examples of prejudice are mainly directed towards the black citizens, simply based on the fact that there skin is a different color than that of the white citizens. This would not occur if the people where shown what they were doing, and someone explained to them what it was causing. The main theme represented by this novel is “appearances do not reflect realities and therefore quick judgments and stereotypes can be misleading.” Of course, these people don’t realize their mistakes, and therefore are unable to realize the wrong, and injustice it causes. At one point in the story, it seems as though other people besides the Finch family are seeing that judging people based on their looks is wrong.
In Harper Lee’s compellingly poignant novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ we witness various forms of racism and injustice. As the protagonist, Scout exposes the bigotry present in Maycomb County and what the characters endured because of it, particularly the African Americans. We also observe the discrimination that certain characters, such as Atticus Finch and Mr. Dolphus endure because of the racial stereotypes who couldn’t comprehend their belief for justice for all. Racism in Maycomb was the norm. Most of the people of Maycomb were unjust and ignorant when it came to the most basic rights of the African Americans.