ipl-logo

American Racial Equality

873 Words4 Pages

“It is a wise man who said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals,” was one bunch of wise words once said by Felix Frankfurter. What Frankfurter means by this is that the biggest act that is unequal is giving equal treatment to those who are not your equal. In America, there will never be a time where true racial and social equality is achieved. America will never achieve true social and equal equality, because there has been uneven social classes and different views of different people for as long as we’ve been a country, most people still view some people as their unequal whether that be because of their race or their social class, and you cannot completely control what people say and how they think about …show more content…

In ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee there were several instances where this showed through. On page 282 Tom Robinson’s trial against Bob and Mayella Ewell was going on and the jury was out discussing whether or not Tom, the defendant, was guilty. They finally came back after a long time, over thirty minutes (page 279), and before they had even said anything everyone knew that the verdict would be saying that Mr. Robinson was guilty of raping Mayella Ewell. This is an example of racial inequality because before the jury had even left to discuss, the case had clearly been one by Atticus, defense attorney, and they ruled in favor of the accuser, Mayella and Bob Ewell and Mr. Gilmer as the prosecutor, because Tom had been a black man and Mr. Ewell was a white male. People of color also, had to sit in a completely different part of the courtroom than white people (page 219). It says on page 219, “The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom like a second-story veranda, and from it we could see everything.” This is saying how there was a balcony specifically for black people to sit. In the story, people were also classified by how long their family has been living on the land. “The longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was,” Is a quote that Scout had told us that Aunt Alexandra had said. Another way they were judged was their last name, where they lived in the town, and the amount of education they had (prezi.com). For example, Atticus was looked very highly upon because he was a lawyer and lived in town. The Ewells on the other hand were thinked of more as “white trash” because they had very little education and they lived outside the town and on a farm (page

Show More
Related

  • How Does Tom Robinson Make A Dialectical Journal For To Kill A Mockingbird

    1250 Words  | 5 Pages

    14. In the courthouse, the colored section ran along the entire three walls of the courthouse, the jury sat to the left, under the long windows, the circuit solicitor and Atticus sat at the tables with the backs faced towards the children. The railing separated the spectators and the witnesses in the court; the witnesses sit with their backs toward Scout and Jem in cowhide bottom chairs, and Judge Taylor sat on the bench. It is significant where Scout and Jem sit because sitting in the colored section allowed them to see everything that was going on and it made them see the trail from a colored person’s perspective, where both races should be treated equally. By seeing the trial from a colored person’s perspective, they recall that life is

    Read More

  • Summary Of Outrage Over 6 Month Sentence For Brock Turner Rape Case

    425 Words  | 2 Pages

    A moral that is common to both To Kill a Mockingbird and an article titled “ Outrage Over 6 Month Sentence for Brock Turner Rape Case”, is that favoring a certain race or social class causes society to degress rather than progress. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the Ewells had accused a man named Tom Robinson of rape and they already acted like they’ve won the case because “ ‘ when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. ’”(295), they knew that whatever they accused Tom of they could’ve gotten away with it as a result of the color of their skin. More importantly, there wasn’t really a case to begin with as “ Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (323), the result was already decided before the case got to court.

    Read More

  • How To Prove Tom Robinson's Ethos In To Kill A Mockingbird

    323 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it displays how many racial issues occurred in the southern part of the country during the 1930’s. An example being when Tom Robinson who is a innocent black man who is being accused of assault against Mayella Ewell. At the courthouse, every witness stated that Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell on November 21st and punched her in her right eye. But, Tom Robinson can’t use his left arm so there was no possible way that Tom Robinson punched Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch attempts to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence by using strong, emotional appeals to convince the jury.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Police Privilege In To Kill A Mockingbird

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson against all odds, but the racial prejudices at the time caused him to be found guilty and executed. Atticus at one time states, “our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.” This claim can be disproven because some defendants are still treated as second-class citizens compared to those with greater privilege and influence. Atticus’ statement that everyone is equal to the judicial system is incorrect because those who are privileged have more advantages and can avoid blame for their crimes. Many privileged individuals such as police officers can kill and beat unarmed black men and women based on “reasonable doubt” and are later freed of

    Read More

  • Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

    662 Words  | 3 Pages

    You learned from the start of the book what each class was. There are four main social class's. The upper class who are people like Dolphus Raymond, the white trash like Mayella Ewell, then the negros, like Tom Robinson, then last the mixed people who are half white and half black, this list is formed from highest liked, the riches, to the mixes who are heavily looked down upon. There's also another social list which according to Scout, ''There's the ordinary kind like Scout and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunningham's out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.'' (Chapter

    Read More

  • Wrong Assumptions In To Kill A Mockingbird

    286 Words  | 2 Pages

    This shows that the discrimination of race can determines the outcome of a trial. In addition, Harper Lee shows discrimination about Scouts clothes and the way she dresses. As stated in To Kill a Mockingbird, “well you won’t get very far until you start

    Read More

  • Examples Of Hypocrisy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    841 Words  | 4 Pages

    Atticus explains how colored people are at a disadvantage in court, despite the justice that must be served. Atticus explains, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (Lee 295). Scout learns about the hypocrisy that is carried into a courtroom, where every man should have a fair chance. Even though the court is supposed to carry out proper justice for the innocent and guilty, a black person would still have a slim chance winning against a white person. The verdict should be determined based on evidence and witnesses, although the jury in Tom Robinson’s case manage to pronounce him guilty simply because of their opinion.

    Read More

  • Themes In Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

    864 Words  | 4 Pages

    Discrimination is one of many themes Harper Lee used in To Kill a Mockingbird. Race, social status, and gender are ways discrimination is shown. In other words, Finch’s would be on the top because their family is white and Atticus is a lawyer. Cunningham’s would be next because they are farmers and very poor, which means that they can’t take anything that they can’t pay back. A good example would be when Walter’s teacher offers to loan him a quarter, which he did not accept because Walter is not able to repay her.

    Read More

  • Continue For Racial Equality In America

    734 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “ The Struggle Continues for Racial Equality in America” speech by Ginger Adams Otis, there’s a quote that explains how equality may never be achieved: “ Blacks also make forty-percent of the population in homeless shelters, although they account for thirteen-percent of the U.S population. They also have the highest rate of ‘severely cost-burdened renters’- those who pay at least half their income to rent, leaving little for continued education for themselves or their children.” Our country’s equality hasn’t changed from 1963, so equality doesn’t seem achievable. The quote proves the point that equality can’t be achievable because although the law wants equality in the United States, there are people who make it impossible. But, there are Americans with the hope that equality will be achieved, but there are people who don’t have the hope that equality will be achieved.

    Read More

  • African American Racial Inequality

    1510 Words  | 7 Pages

    A generation that played by the rules and see progress, fall out the middle class. This shrinking middle class harms people of color more than whites. For example, “the unemployment rate among black Americans is roughly twice that the population, whites, and black people earn, on average, between twelve through twenty-two per cent less than Caucasian people with similar education and experience are on top of the racial hierarchy, while variously shaded African Americans are below caucasian (Siaiecki). Thus Caucasians in socioeconomic position (class) and prestige (status)” (Gans).

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Racial Inequality Essay

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the world right now, there is still inequality for all. People are criticized everyday because of how they look, speak, dress, act, etc. In America, although there is people that are changing, there with always be that small group of people that won’t change their views on what they believe is right and wrong in our society. You can also see this in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by author, Harper Lee. All throughout the novel, you can see how white people are superior to the African Americans that live in the same town.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Should Be Banned Essay

    635 Words  | 3 Pages

    Atticus tells his children “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s world against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (251-52). This quote alone shows great prejudice because it judges someone because of the color of their skin instead of their innocence which they should be judged off of. When you first begin reading the novel you notice that everyone you meet has a reputation by their last or first name. As you meet the new people as you progress in the book you realize that no matter who a person is they are judged by their name. Scout states in the novel “ He’s a Cunningham.. the Cunninghams never took anything they can't take back” (22).

    Read More

  • To What Extent Did Tom Robinson Have A Fair Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

    866 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the South of the United States in the 1930´s, the justice system was very unfair towards colored people. Colored people that were sent to court could not receive a fair trial because of the prejudice and racism from the jury. This happened all the time, especially in Maycomb Alabama. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a colored man named Tom Robinson was convicted of assaulting a white woman just because of the color of his skin. Tom Robinson should have been found not guilty for many reasons.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Judge Taylor Character Analysis

    656 Words  | 3 Pages

    r To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was a novel filled with many racial controversies, prejudices, and racism. All of which took place during the 1960s in Maycomb County, Alabama. Regardless of the many racists there were a handful of people that could care less about the colour of someone’s skin. One person who fits in with this small handful of people is the Maycomb judge, Mr. John Taylor. Judge Taylor looked like the stereotypical judge from that time period, “amiable, white-haired, slightly ruddy-faced, he was a man who ran his court with an alarming informality,” (Lee, 165).

    Read More

  • Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

    1793 Words  | 8 Pages

    This behaviour is deemed as natural, and few people question the roles put in place, this is truly terrifying so we are lead to wonder if what we accept as normal is perhaps corrupt instead. Race is the dominant cause of inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird, thus Maycomb’s views on race heavily influence every aspect of life. Although racial inequality is clearly illustrated in the in the injustice, prejudice, discrimination and antagonism surrounding the Tom Robinson trial, it is also shown more subtly throughout the novel. In Chapter 25 Atticus Finch is quoted disclosing that the corrupt justice system is a direct cause of a racist society. “In our courts, when it 's a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee, 295).

    Read More

More about American Racial Equality

Open Document