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Jim Crow To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

1089 Words5 Pages

Nick Emond
Mr. Varga
Eng 10
4 May 2023

Jim Crow/"To Kill a Mockingbird" Essay

Racism was one of the biggest problems in the United States in the mid 20th century. It was the strongest in the southern states such as Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. There were laws in place that made racial segregation legal called the Jim Crow Laws. These laws limited the freedoms and opportunities of African Americans living in these states. Under these laws African Americans were unable to vote and had to use completely different buildings, parks and restrooms than whites. The discrimination that was shown towards African Americans didn’t stop at legal segregation. Lynching was used by groups of white people to scare blacks and show their superiority. …show more content…

The laws made it legal for places to be racially segregated. Everything from theaters and restaurants to water fountains and elevators were segregated. Whites took all the nice areas and pushed African Americans out to the poverty ridden areas. This caused people to take action. Charlotte Brown for example made a black school in North Carolina so African American students could get a good education. Charlotte wasn’t the only person who took a stand against these laws, Ida Wells refused to leave a first-class train car that was for white people. Not everyone was as brave as these two though. Lynching was a huge problem during this time and many African Americans were scared to do something that might upset the whites. This created a culture of fear which stopped African Americans from trying to live normal …show more content…

Bob Ewell for example accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter because he knew that it would be an easy case for him and with no evidence, everyone in the town believes him. Robinson is arrested with no investigation and is placed on trial. Atticus on the other hand, defends Robinson showing he is not like every other white person in the town and does not believe in this racist ideology that blacks are inferior to whites. Another example of Jim Crow attitudes is shown when a mob of whites drive to where Robinson is staying before the trial. They try to lynch him before the trial could start. The mob being led by Mr. Cunningham wanted to kill Robinson because they believe that whites can do whatever they want to blacks with no punishment. They are stopped however by Atticus who is staying outside the door of the building where Robinson is at. His attitudes towards the Jim Crow laws are shown to be passed down to Jean when she arrives at the building and starts talking to Mr. Cunningham which leads to the mob

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