The definition of racism according to the Australian Oxford mini dictionary (third edition) is belief in superiority of particular race,

theory that human abilities are determined by race, and antagonism between races. Good morning/afternoon class and Ms Jones. As you all know we have read To Kill a Mocking Bird last term and in the spectacular book there is an assortment of issues that Harper Lee examines. Some of these are racism, prejudice and bigotry, the loss of innocence, gender and education, as you have probably guessed the issue I will be scrutinising is racism. At the time when the novel was based, racism was going strong in the South. The civil war, in which had been began in 1861 and ended in 1865 and was fought in response to the election of an anti-slavery Republican as President, had ended and the North had one. This caused some major strife between states. And even if slavery was made illegal, African-Americans were still constantly discriminated against and treated like second class citizens all through the South. Basically there was no acknowledgment that African-Americans had the equivalent emotions as white people. In fact there was a great deal of people who assumed that all blacks were liars and immoral just because of their skin colour. Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird is centered around the court case concerning Tom Robinson raping Mayella Ewell. In short he is falsely accused by both Mayella Ewell and her father Bob Ewell of the crime, and taken to trial with Atticus as his lawyer and a court room full of racists. Even though it is quite clear from the description in the book that it was in fact Mayellas father instead of Tom who was sexually assaulting her, Tom is given the verdict of guilty with the

punishment of death. Tom knows that even with an appeal he would most likely be judged by his race and decides to take a chance and attempted to escape jail. He was shot seventeen times. A father, husband and sons life was stolen just because a couple of white people decided that he was guilty because of a colour. There was a clear barrier between black and white people that was never meant to be crossed in society. In transportation black people always had to sit behind white people at the back of a bus. They had different churches, different schools and it was considered that there should be no personal relationships between AfricanAmericans and white people. In the novel this occurred in the church, court room and with Mr. Dolphus Raymond living with his black mistress and mulatto children. This certainly didnt help accumulate white people, in the South, to the belief that all people had the same rights as each other and that it didnt change if a person had white skin or black skin: This passage out of To Kill a Mockingbird is a perfect example of the separation of black and white people. Lula stopped, but she said, "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church,

ain't it, Miss Cal?" Calpurnia said, "It's the same God, ain't it?" Jem said, "Let's go home, Cal, they don't want us here-" Some of the most horrible and disgusting groups and incidents have been influenced by racism throughout history. Much like what happened to Tom Robinson. Such as the Ku Klux Klan, an organization in the United States that advocated radical reactionary tides such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically expressed through terrorism. Another is World War 2. Can you imagine the deadliest war in history that had 50 million to over 70 million fatalities was the result of one tyrant had a view of a certain race?
If

I can send the flower of the German nation into the hell of war without the smallest pity for the shedding of precious German blood, then surely I have the right to remove millions of an inferior race that breeds like vermin This is one of Adolf Hitlers quotes about his view on racism.
To

Kill a Mockingbird is an amazingly written book that helps to make you understand the brutal battle African-Americans had to face. It helps you see the uselessness of racism. It helps you see the destructiveness of racism to human life. And it helps you to see that you shouldnt judge someone based solely on their race. And with that I bid you good day.