Impact of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird In present time, the United States prides itself on ensuring the law equally applies to all citizens of the United States of America. However, the argument that court rulings are unjust, especially among minorities could be made. Justice does definitely not apply equally to the people of America during the era of Jim Crow laws, and preexisting racial prejudice. Tom Robinson, in To Kill a Mockingbird, fights racial prejudice to try and obtain justice. However, Tom Robinson is no match for the iron grasp racism has on the southern United States. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racial prejudice leads to the unfair treatment of Tom Robinson during his court case and after his death. During the trial of Tom Robinson, racial prejudice and stereotyping lead to unfair bias amongst the jury, ultimately resulting in a wrongful conviction. Tom Robinson, a black man, is on trial for rape. He has a very good chance of winning the trial because the prosecution "has not produced…medical evidence…that the crime…took place" (Lee 271). With the overwhelming evidence that the defense has provided the jury has no valid reason to convict Tom Robinson. However, racism directly influences the jury to have bias against him. Another key contributing factor in the …show more content…
Racial prejudice affects every aspect of the lives of the people who live in the South. Racism leads to unfair trials and wrongful deaths. Racism continues today because people are unwilling to realize they are racist or they do not want to change their beliefs in order to become more accepting of others. Racism goes against the fundamental values of America, equality for all citizens of the United States of America. Therefore, people who consider themselves American citizens and are racist cannot truly be