How Did Harper Lee Impact On To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee grew up in a severely racist and discriminatory time. She exposed the reality of life during those times of hatred in her most famous book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee was born on April 29, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a lawyer who was able to provide her with an education and was able to give her a privileged life throughout her childhood (Daly). Lee would notice how some kids would struggle in reading and she would ignore it. Now, she realizes why her peers in elementary school were struggling to catch up. "We were privileged. There were children, mostly from rural areas, who had never looked into a book until they went to school. They had to be taught to read in the first grade, and we were impatient with

The Jim Crow Laws, Lynching culture, and the Great Depression were all major events in history that altered peoples' minds and ruined many people's lives. First, The Jim Crow Law was a form of normalizing racial segregation and was a highly sensitive topic gaining seclusion from the community if questioned. "Taking a stand on race during this period would subject you to rejection from all the prominent and valued institutions in the community. You'd be rejected from church. You'd be rejected, often, from workplaces, from schools" ("Understanding Jim Crow"). Harper Lee lived in a state that adhered to the Jim Crow Laws as she was growing up. Next, the rise of Lynching culture was a way to send people of color to their death with just an accusation of them doing any wrong, and without giving them the right to court. "That blacks are being victimized, now, in greater numbers. And the reason that is given for this rise in lynchings, which reaches a peak in 1892, is the accusation that black

were people whom Harper Lee witnessed protesting discrimination. First, Dorothea Lang rebelled against what was meant to be photographed during the Great Depression by taking pictures of more than just White people during this time. "Although the photographers who worked for the FSA took many pictures of people of color—in the streets, in the fields, out of work—the Great Depression's main victims, as Americans came to visualize them, were white. And this collective portrait has contributed to the misbegotten idea, still current, that the soul of America, the real American type, is rural and white" (Boxer). Lang greatly affected what was perceived as a White-only hardship by showing how both Black and White suffered. Next, John Lewis was an activist who affected the fight for Civil Rights immensely. John Lewis impacted this country as a Civil Rights activist until he died on July 17 at 80 years old. The country grieved for this man and showed great approbation for him and his work. Barack Obama, our former President, once said that John Lewis 'not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice but inspired generations that followed to try to live up to his example.' Oprah Winfrey was able to see him before his death and she thanked him by saying: 'My life as it is would not have been possible without you'"(Gliatto). John Lewis was an inspiration to the Civil Rights movement and touched many