Racial Segregation In To Kill A Mockingbird

of respect for African American holy worship; a sacrosanct place they treat with deference is used for sinful gambling by whites. The African Americans were immediately taken aback when they saw Jem and Jean Louise enter the church, as they are unaccustomed to seeing whites at their all-black church. One African American woman even goes to say that “ [Calpurnia] ain’t got no business bringin white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n.” This viewpoint is clearly a product of race segregation and demonstrates how irrevokably shocking it was, during that time period, for two white children to enter an African-American church. However, over time, the churchgoers became friendly with Jem and Jean Louise, and include them in their hymnals. Harper Lee depicts the black community of Maycomb admirably, as

Merriweather, a Christian missionary lady, speaks about how “there’s nothing more distracting than a sulky darky.” She, like many folks in the South, believes the misconception that all African-Americans are lazy and full of complaints. She makes more racially-targeted statements and efficaciously expresses the beliefs of many segregationists of the South, saying that “We can educate ‘em till we’re blue in the face, we can try till we drop to make Christians out of ‘em, but there’s no safe lady in her bed these nights”. She is implying that educating African Americans is futile and will not change their violent, uncivil nature. In Go Set a Watchman, Jean Louise sneaks into the courthouse and clandestinely eavesdrops a conversation of the city council with regards to segregation. Subsequently, she hears a man by the name of Mr. O’Hanlon deliver a speech on the topic he devoted all his time to: the preservation of segregation. In delivering this speech, Mr. O’Hanlon speaks words of complete animosity towards African-Americans, words that if said today, would result in civil lawsuits and court