To Kill A Mockingbird Civil Rights Case Study

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, continues to be taught today and should continue, as the characterization of the story, although fictional, has a high resemblance to real life cases and issues of the time. It captures critical lessons and teachings that are imperative to modern-day schools and present-day society. To Kill A Mockingbird depicts the inequality between blacks and whites in the 1930s by telling a captivating story including the issues of rape and racism. Although the fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird was set in the 1930s, it references Civil Rights cases involving discrimination, racism, and segregation that were part of the Civil Rights movement throughout the whole century. Tom Robinson’s case in To Kill A Mockingbird resembles many Civil Rights Cases, specifically in the case of Powell vs. Alabama. In Powell vs. Alabama, several young white men
Board of Education of Topeka, said decisively by Chief Justice Earl Warren, in that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” (cite it). Tom Robinson’s case exhibits segregation amidst churches, schools, and neighborhoods, all of which isolate people by the color of the skin. For example, when Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to church with her, some of her neighbors’ first reactions are to say, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here - they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?” (158). Clearly, this was the human response to discrimination, as they are now fearful of interfacing with whites due to the immensive segregation between the two races. The whole scenario of To Kill A Mockingbird integrates the advantages of a white citizen’s living conditions and the unfairness felt by the colored people in the community. However, both demonstrate the lesson that you cannot judge someone by their skin color and race, as it is more about what kind of character is represented through their own actions and