Jim Crow Laws

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Jim Crow Laws
Many of the discriminatory Jim Crow laws were
enacted to support racial segregation in everyday
life. They required black and white people to use
separate water fountains, public schools, public
restrooms, restaurants, public libraries, buses
and rail cars.
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Who was Jim Crow?
The term Jim Crow comes from the minstrel song
Jump Jim Crow" written in 1828 and performed by
Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice, a white song and
dance man, who first popularized Black Face. The
song and blackface itself were an immediate hit.
A caricature of a shabbily dressed rural black,
"Jim Crow" became a standard character in
minstrel shows.
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What happens if you break a law?

• The Jim Crow Laws justified and perpetuated the
  use of lynching against African Americans,
  particularly by groups such as the Klu Klux Klan
  (KKK).

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Founded by former Confederate soldiers after the
Civil War(1861-1865) the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) used
violence and intimidation to prevent blacks from
voting, holding political office and attending
school.
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Strange Fruit

• Southern trees bear strange fruit,Blood on the
  leaves and blood at the root,Black bodies
  swinging in the southern breeze,Strange fruit
  hanging from the poplar trees.Pastoral scene of
  the gallant south,The bulging eyes and the
  twisted mouth,Scent of magnolias, sweet and
  fresh,Then the sudden smell of burning
  flesh.Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,For
  the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,For the
  sun to rot, for the trees to drop,Here is a
  strange and bitter crop.

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Emmett Till

• Emmett Till Clip

In August 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley of Chicago
sent her only child, 14 year-old Emmett Louis
Till, to visit relatives in the Mississippi
Delta. Little did she know that only 8 days
later, Emmett would be abducted from his
Great-Uncles home, brutally beaten and murdered
for one of the oldest Southern taboos whistling
at a white woman in public. The murderers were
soon arrested but later acquitted of murder by an
all-white, all-male jury.
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To Kill A Mockingbird

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Harper Lee

• As a child, Harper Lee was an unruly tomboy. She
  fought on the playground. She talked back to
  teachers. She was bored with school and resisted
  any sort of conformity. The character of Scout in
  To Kill a Mockingbird would have liked her. In
  high school Lee was fortunate to have a gifted
  English teacher, Gladys Watson Burkett, who
  introduced her to challenging literature and the
  rigors of writing well. Lee loved 19th-century
  British authors best, and once said that her
  ambition was to become "the Jane Austen of south
  Alabama."

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The Background

• The story is about a young girl named Scout who
  witnesses a towns mistreatment of people.
• The story is told from the young girls point of
  view.
• The MAIN characters are good people witnessing
  prejudice.

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• The young girl describes the prejudice honestly
  and at times descriptively.
• The language of the novel is at times vernacular
  meaning that the language includes slang words
  and even derogatory words which were used by
  prejudiced people.

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• Some of the prejudice described in the story
  includes
• white against black black against white
• poor against rich rich against poor
• girls against boys boys against girls
• The story describes the lifestyle of southern
  America in the post-Depression era of the late
  1930s.
• The story describes the judicial system of
  Alabama and the country in the 1930s.

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Scout Finch

• Jean Louise Scout Finch - 
• Narrator of the story
• Almost 6 when the story starts
• Lively, intelligent girl (taught herself to read
  very young).
• Strong will and a quick temper
• Tom-boy, prefers to hang out with Jem and Dill
  instead of girls.
• Very open-minded

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Atticus Finch

• Lawyer in Maycomb, Alabama
• Widower raising 2 children
• Modest and tactful, very respected community
  member.
• Demands honesty and courtesy from his children

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Jeremy Atticus Jem Finch

• Scouts older brother
• Tries to act like Atticus-is calm and reasonable
• Usually restrains his anger, but sometimes loosed
  control of it

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Charles Baker Dill Harris

• Friend of Jem and Scout
• Comes to Maycomb each summer to stay with his
  Aunt Rachel
• Has no father, feels un-wanted and un-loved by
  his mother
• Very charismatic

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Arthur Boo Radley

• Neighbor to the Finchs-mostley known due to
  rumors
• Has not been seen outdoors since he was a
  teenager

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Bob Ewell

• Poor Farmer and widower
• Makes no attempt to be a good person- spends all
  of his welfare on alcohol
• Abuses his children

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Mayella Ewell

• Bob Ewells 19 year old daughter
• Raises her younger brothers and sisters
• Lonely
• Uneducated

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Tom Robinson

• Black man accused of raping a white woman
• Has a wife and children
• Helpful and kind

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Supporting Characters

• Aunt Alexandria- Atticuss younger sister- comes
  to help raise Scout
• Miss Maudie- Childrens favorite neighbor,
  supports Atticus
• Calpurnia- The Finchs cook. Acts as a mother
  figure.

• Link Dees- Tom Robinsons employer. Shows that
  some people are not prejudice.
• Mrs. Dubose- An elderly, ill-tempered, racist
  woman who lives near the Finches.
• Nathan Radley- Boo Radleys older brother

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Supporting Characters

• Heck Tate- Sheriff of Maycomb, AL.
• Mr. Underwood- Journalist and publisher of the
  towns newspaper
• Mr. Dolphus Raymond-white man who has a black
  wife and mixed children. Seen as the town drunk.

• Mr. Walter Cunningham-poor farmer. Is seen as
  part of the lynch mob, but shows his human
  qualities.
• Walter Cunningham- classmate of scouts who cannot
  afford to buy lunch.