Race Relations In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird: Race Relations Racism is a problem that has been around for multiple centuries. In To Kill a Mockingbird it demonstrates how racism can affect one person even in the court of law. In this story, the case of Tom Robinson is told. It is obvious that Robinson is a victim of racist people that see him guilty only because of his race, African American. From the beginning, it seems obvious that Robinson does not have a chance in winning his case whether he is guilty or not. To the people, they hear the story from a white family, and in this time white people’s words are better than African Americans’, whether it is right or wrong. In this story, a white family sets out to help Tom Robinson. This is not a common event to happen

As present in the Zimmerman case of 2013. 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was an unarmed teen wandering around in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman had called 911 to inform them of a suspicious character around the neighborhood. The police informed him to stay in his car and not approach Martin. Zimmerman did not listen to the police. When the police arrived at the scene, they arrived to a dead body belonging to Martin, an African American teen, who was unarmed. Zimmerman was injured in the encounter. Immediately claiming that it had been an act of self defense. In the beginning, he was not tried as there was no proof to disprove his story. Later it is recommended that he be tried for manslaughter as he did not identify himself to Martin. In a recording of the 911 call there is a voice heard saying, “Help! Help!” It seems the voice is that of Trayvon Martin. Shortly after gunshots are heard. In the end, Zimmerman is found not guilty of murder as it was an act of self

All of the victims are African Americans that are unarmed or falsely accused of the wrong-doing. Even though these cases are all taken place in different decades and different periods of time they all consist of the same problem. In every case it seems that the race of the victim plays a key role in the decision of the trial. Over time there have been small strides in eliminating racism completely. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus is doing what he believes is right trying to save Tom Robinson from being wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit. Atticus when asked if he is a “nigger-lover,” answers with, “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I 'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it 's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn 't hurt you.” (108). Atticus is doing what he can to eliminate the effect that race could have in this case. In the most recent case, Zimmerman and Martin, there were many riots going on about the verdict being not guilty. People believed that they did not care because the victim was African American. In the Scottsboro Trial, the nine men did not receive a fair trial because of the color of their skin. The men most likely would not have been accused of the crime had they been white. According to witnesses the men did not do anything but throw the white men off the train that had been harassing them. The white men