The Cruelty of Racism Racism is the belief that one race possesses inherent traits that make that particular race superior to other races. In 1900s, black people were treated cruelly, and even got killed because of racism. They were considered inferior to the white race. People used to judge each other based on their skin color, and race. The society used to turn a blind eye to the racial problems. Inspired by Jim Crow Laws, Scottsboro Trial, and the African American Church Burning American novelist Harper Lee wrote her book To Kill a Mockingbird to portray the injustices and discrimination black people faced back in the 1900s. Jim Crow Laws were laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States, these laws meant that black …show more content…
In the article Scottsboro Boys and To Kill a Mockingbird: Two Trials for the Classroom it stated that, “The lessons of the infamous 1930s Scottsboro Boys case in which two young white women wrongfully accused nine African American youths of rape illustrate through fact what Harper Lee tried to instruct through her fiction”.(Scottsboro) Black people were always accused by white people of crimes they did not do and the judge will always believe the whites. Blacks were considered criminals, that was one of the main reasons why Lee wrote her book; she felt that things should be changed and blacks should have a voice. Blacks did not feel that they live in their country, they needed help to make their voice heard; some of the white writers helped them to fight for their rights, that was mentioned in the article To Kill a Mockingbird: Two Trials for the Classroom“Both historical and fictional trials express the courage required to stand up for the Constitutional principle providing for equal justice to all under the law.”(Scottsboro) This quote shows that fictional