Eduardo Gonalves Mr. Phillips English 9B 5 December 2013 Racism Comparison Martin Luther King Jr.

once said, I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls". His dream was not realized in To Kill a Mockingbird or in Mississippi Burning because one of the main focuses of both are whites against blacks. Racism in both works are similar, for example most of the white population dislike the black, shown by how their choices and action, and when the whites are violent or bias against the black they do not try to fight back. In To Kill a Mockingbird most of the white population hate the black people, even the court. Mr. Ewell blames Tom Robinson for something he did and still gets away with it because the court says Tom Robinson is, "'guilty. . .guilty. . .guilty. . .guilty'" (Harper Lee 211). Even though Atticus has concrete evidence that Tom Robinson is innocent, the court sentences him because he is black. In Mississippi Burning there is also evidence that the white population hate the black. There is a part where the black people are coming out of church and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) are outside the door. The KKK hits them, even a child, and kills some black people (Alan Parker, Mississippi Burning). This shows how much hate the white population have for the black. There is also an incident that happened in Mississippi where a KKK member is, "accused of burning a cross in a black neighborhood in Ozark

in 2009 to intimidate residents" (The Washington Post). The KKK member named Dinkle "was arrested Wednesday in Mississippi" (The Washington Post). Although Dinkle did not hurt anyone he is still sentenced. Even today the KKK exist, though they do not have as much influence as in the time where the movie takes place. Another similarity in To Kill a Mockingbird and Mississippi Burning is that the black people do not fight back when the whites are violent or bias against them. In the book when Tom Robinson went to jail in an unfair way no one tried to stop it or fight against it. Everyone but Atticus, Judge Taylor, Scout, and Jem forget about it, "'It ain't right, Atticus,' said Jem. 'No son, it's not right'" (Harper Lee 212). The black people also do not protest or fight against it because since they are black the court would not pay attention to them and they do not really have a say at anything. In Mississippi Burning we see that the black people do not fight back in the scene when the KKK is outside the church waiting for the black to come out. The black people could fight them because they were much more in number but they did not (Alan Parker, Mississippi Burning). They probably did not fight back because they would be punished or sent to jail by the whites. The law is on the KKKs side and they would never get punished. Mississippi Burning and To Kill a Mockingbird are very similar in racism. In the movie and in the book most of the population hate the black people, and we see that by the choices and actions, and also the black do not fight back when the whites are violent or bias against them. I hope that one day racism does not exist anymore. Even though nowadays there is much less racism, it still exists significantly and acts that occur in the book and in the movie also happen today. There are many examples in

society where racism is trying to be fought. If we show these examples to the next generations in the schools or other places racism will decrease dramatically.

Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print. Mississippi Burning. Dir. Alan Parker. Perf. Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe. Orion Pictures, 1988. DVD. Press, Associated. "Former Klan Leader Indicted in Ala. Cross Burning." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-klan-leader-indicted-in-alacross-burning/2013/11/29/34b80104-5934-11e3-bdbf097ab2a3dc2b_story.html>.