During the time near the start of WWII, tensions between whites and blacks were tangible. It wasn 't really tensions between the two as much as tension against the blacks. This was especially true in southern United States. Poverty, oppression, and violence was plaguing the black communities and a lot of it was from the whites. A black man could be shot in broad daylight and the perpetrator, if white, could claim self defense and get off scot free. Segregation was still going on down south and blacks sat in the back, lived in shacks, and had to turn their backs. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus is a seemingly unbiased lawyer whose reputation and ethics are cleaner than any whistle. He defended a black man in court for free, treats people of all races with respect and dignity, and openly defended Tom Robinson who was black and framed for rape. In one scene Atticus gave his black housekeeper, Calpurnia, a ride home to her house. Without any dialogue she sat in the backseat of the car and there was no discussion about it. Was this racism from Atticus in which he wouldn’t let her sit in the front? Or merely the societal norms that both were aware of ? I think the latter, based off no dialogue about it, and Atticus’s actions throughout the story, there is no reason to believe that it is anything other than the norm at the time, and if she asked, he may have let her in the front. During the story at no point does Atticus show any signs of racism, following the societal norms, or