Essay on Racism in Maycomb County

Based on the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racism was an increasing problem for all of the people in Maycomb County.  Racism causes people to compare each other just by the color of their skin.  In other words, these comparisons justify what they are permitted to do, and where they are allowed to go based on the color of their skin.  Therefore, different races will separate themselves, and as a result, it will cause racism among one another. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is an epidemic in Maycomb county, and racism distorts others to believe that people who do not look the same as they do, should not be able to do the same activities because they do not portray themselves as equals.  

Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus attempts to change the perception that whites should not help blacks because they look different.  Meanwhile, Jem was told by Cecil Jacobs that Atticus was a negro lover, so Jem asked Atticus about it and Atticus said: “I’m simply defending a negro”(70).  This quote reveals how everything anybody does in Maycomb has to be separated by race unless racism will heighten.  Atticus emphasizes that defending a black is no different than defending a white.  The whites are too scared to support the blacks because of what society thinks about them.  Atticus wants to reveal to the people of Maycomb that defending a negro is not bad, and it is as simple as defending a white person.  

Racism in Maycomb County was an overwhelming occurrence that seemed to appear wherever anybody went.  In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Calpurnia decided to take jem and Scout to her church, but when she got there a threatening woman said: “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here; they got their church, we got our’n”(136).  This quote confronts the meaning of racism because even though they are different skin colors does not mean they should not be able to praise God just as much.  Different races should not decipher which church people have to go to because both churches are expressing how they feel about the Lord just as much.  It should not matter what anybody looks like because God loves everyone the same, no matter what color the skin is.  

To Kill a Mockingbird portrays how serious racism used to be and that it was not an easy thing to be around.  As a result, people began to segregate themselves based on skin color.  Racism was a brutal conflict that affected how people treated each other, and it even conflicted with the places they were allowed to go to.  As people read this they are able to understand how important racism is and how it affects those around.  We are able to learn how to stand up for what we believe just how Atticus Atticus took a stand for Tom Robinson.