Injustice In A Lesson Before Dying

Elie Wiesel once declared “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” Wiesel’s point is proved by the courageous responses elicited from African-Americans protesting inequality in their communities, spanning from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, though the harsh bias placed upon black Americans results in a difficulty in fighting against injustice. African-American author Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying, portrays the 1940s South, taking place in Louisiana, displaying the struggle impoverished African-Americans face on a day to day basis, exemplified through Jefferson’s struggle with injustice within the United States legal system. Gaines’ novel

The Johnson v. California 2004 Supreme Court case, questioning a prison’s policy to segregate inmates by race, remonstrated by prison officials stating: “that the practice reduces racially motivated violence” (Racial Segregation in Prison). This exposes a biased stereotype of African-American men, making the assumption that they are easily subject to gang violence; therefore, they are unjustly separated from others based on their race and the presumption they are inherently violent. Within this prison, “When cell assignments are made, the inmates are divided into four general categories: black, white Asian, and other” (Racial Segregation in Prison). Though everyday segregation of blacks and whites has ended since the Civil Rights movement, this prison organization system illustrates the racial bias present in Americans, orchestrating a new form of segregation, though the ultimate decision for Johnson v. California ruled in favor of ending this program, as it was deemed unconstitutional. Subsequently, both this case and A Lesson Before Dying display the lasting effect segregation had on the U.S., creating a prejudiced view of different