The Racial Injustice and Inequality of A Lesson Before Dying Caleb Gruber English 11 March, 2024. A Lesson Before Dying serves as a reflection of the systemic challenges faced by Black communities during the 1940s and portrays the racial inequalities and injustice within it. Set in Louisiana, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines follows Jefferson, a young Black man wrongly convicted of murder, as he waits for execution. A teacher, Grant Wiggins, is assigned to help him find his humanity and dignity during his final days. They form a brotherly bond as Grant tries to help Jefferson find his dignity again. The book powerfully illustrates the injustice of Jefferson's wrongful conviction, the limitations of education, and dehumanizing treatment …show more content…
The unequal access to education shown in the novel reflects the larger problem of segregation and racism during the era. There was also the social segregation that was prevailing in Bayonne, where the racial divide between black and white communities was deeply ingrained. In the book, we see the towns being segregated with completely separate churches and schools, one uptown and one downtown. We also see how segregated it is with the bathrooms when Grant goes to visit Jefferson “This toilet was for colored people who came to the courthouse, and it was down in the basement.” (Gaines 69) This shows how segregated the South was during the late 40s and how huge the racial divide between black and white communities. As well as showing the inequality between them with the toilet for Black people being down in the basement. Gaines illuminates the systemic racial injustice and inequality experienced by Black Americans in the 40s through the characters' struggles with wrongful convictions, educational disparities, and social segregation. Ernest J. Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying vividly depicts the injustice of Jefferson's wrongful conviction,