To Kill a Mockingbird
Study Questions- Even though we will be discussing the novel in depth, sometimes it's still nice to get a little bit of an outside perspective. SparkNotes has a great set of study questions to help with just that. Take a look to supplement your reading if you need help or if you're just curious about another perspective.
1930's and the Great Depression- This youtube video helps set the scene for the background of Harper Lee's novel. The 1930's was a difficult time for everyone, but it was particularly hard on African Americans, which this video depicts quite forcefully.
Harper Lee Documentary- Unfortunately, this resource requires a subscription to Netflix. If you have Netflix, great, if you don't, don't sweat it. It talks about Harper Lee and her background in relation to writing To Kill a Mockingbird. It's an interesting documentary to gain some perspective on the novel.
1930's and the Great Depression- This youtube video helps set the scene for the background of Harper Lee's novel. The 1930's was a difficult time for everyone, but it was particularly hard on African Americans, which this video depicts quite forcefully.
Harper Lee Documentary- Unfortunately, this resource requires a subscription to Netflix. If you have Netflix, great, if you don't, don't sweat it. It talks about Harper Lee and her background in relation to writing To Kill a Mockingbird. It's an interesting documentary to gain some perspective on the novel.
Segregation
Below you will find some resources that discuss various types of segregation. They are organized in as chronological an order as possible, beginning with a brief description of the Jim Crow Laws and "Separate but Equal." Many of the links and resource materials I will be providing are going to be information on court cases which moved civil rights forward. Some of the pages will be very dense with information, but try and take a look at everything, as they mostly go hand in hand.
Jim Crow Laws- These are laws that established that Blacks and Whites were not allowed to use the same facilities. This link by PBS describes what the background of Jim Crow was as well as some stories which are first hand narratives of the experiences different people had. You may want to look up the court case Plessy v. Ferguson, which was the first case to question these laws and eventually give rise to "Separate but Equal."
Jim Crow Laws- These are laws that established that Blacks and Whites were not allowed to use the same facilities. This link by PBS describes what the background of Jim Crow was as well as some stories which are first hand narratives of the experiences different people had. You may want to look up the court case Plessy v. Ferguson, which was the first case to question these laws and eventually give rise to "Separate but Equal."
Separate but Equal Doctrine- The youtube video at the right describes a set of laws known as the "Separate but Equal Doctrine" which essentially said that segregation was not happening if the facilities provided were equal. This was briefly touched upon in the link above, but the video is a shorter condensed version by a high school history teacher that gives an overview of how these events are all interrelated.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)- The next landmark case in the fight for African American civil rights comes in the form of Brown v. Board of Education, a case which put the "Separate but Equal Doctrine" to the test, and eventually called for desegregation of public schools. This case was huge at the time, and still remains controversial today. It eventually led to desegregation at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, a move that was so controversial in its own action that President Eisenhower signed an Executive Order that called for federal troops to be present on the day desegregation would be enforced. The troops were to keep the peace and make sure that students remained safe during the landmark event. |
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Rosa Parks is the single most recognizable icon of the civil rights movement aside from Martin Luther King, Jr. This woman, who sparked a nation's outcry for equality, actually later said that she did not mean to provoke such a flurry of action; she was was merely tired and did not want to move. Regardless, Rosa Parks's actions sparked freedom rides and sit in protests at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's. This link provides background to the case as well as actual arrest records for Rosa Parks.
Loving v. Virginia- In 1958, Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter were charged with breaking the law... because they had married each other. Why was this a problem? Because in Virginia in 1958, it was illegal to marry someone who was not the same race as you. (Think about what Jem says about Mr. Raymond and his children in TKAM.) The Lovings left their home and moved to Washington, DC instead. However, they were again jailed when they went back to visit, and Mildred Loving asked for help from the Attorney General at the time, Robert F. Kennedy. The case made it to the Supreme Court in 1967, eventually leading to a decision banning interracial marriage as unconstitutional. 40 years later, it is still relevant. Take a look at the next link to see why. |
Cheerios- Yup. Cheerios. This innocent cereal was the vehicle of what became a controversial internet debate on interracial marriage. The original commercial attracted so many negative comments about the obviously mixed race family that comments were disabled. This link that I am providing discusses whether the subject of interracial marriages is wrong... However, there's a twist. The discussion is coming from kids, and without a doubt, every single one of them said that the controversy was unnecessary. What do you think?
Japanese Internment- During World War II, America was initially neutral, providing aid and weapons, but not participating in the war. That all changed when the Japanese navy bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, prompting a response from America to finally join the war. In response to the "Japanese threat," Americans created internment camps and segregated Japanese Americans from the rest of the country's citizens. As Prisoners of War, these immigrants lost basic rights to privacy and property. Take a look at this link that discusses censorship during the war.
**In addition, it should be noted that Asian immigrants were not allowed to become citizens of the United States at all, but their children, born in America, were citizens. It was not until well after World War II that this law was changed and Asian immigrants were finally allowed to become naturalized citizens.
Japanese Internment- During World War II, America was initially neutral, providing aid and weapons, but not participating in the war. That all changed when the Japanese navy bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, prompting a response from America to finally join the war. In response to the "Japanese threat," Americans created internment camps and segregated Japanese Americans from the rest of the country's citizens. As Prisoners of War, these immigrants lost basic rights to privacy and property. Take a look at this link that discusses censorship during the war.
**In addition, it should be noted that Asian immigrants were not allowed to become citizens of the United States at all, but their children, born in America, were citizens. It was not until well after World War II that this law was changed and Asian immigrants were finally allowed to become naturalized citizens.
Autism Speaks- an advocate group for autistic people. This website is meant to educate the general public on what autism is and research autism in hopes of helping those with autism. Autism is a learning disability which can range from a mild inability to communicate clearly to complete, nonverbal tantrums that can be both dangerous as well as frustrating. Students and children who have autism are often regarded as different and hard to handle. They often have very few friends because they have trouble fitting in. Because of this, they are segregated, perhaps not intentionally, the way there were laws against being black 100 years ago, but these kids still face segregation in the classroom, on the playground, and often eventually in the workplace.
This last type of segregation is less obvious. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley was a neighborhood oddity that no one seemed to understand. Boo has trouble connecting to people, except for, it seems, the children that are fascinated with him. I had always assumed that the only reason for this was that Boo was a social outcast, but looking back at the last chapter recently, I sincerely believe that Boo Radley has some kind of learning disability. This causes him to be an oddity in a society that so highly values conformity and hierarchy (as we see in Aunt Alexandra). Boo is different, and so is forced to be a shut in, most likely involuntarily. |