the timeless classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all
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The timeless classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all. Historical Background. What was happening?. SLAVERY Southern states, especially those where cotton was grown , relied on slave labour most slaves from Africa - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The timeless classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all.
What was happening?Historical Background
SLAVERY
Southern states, especially those where cotton was grown, relied on
slave labour most slaves from Africa by 1850 over 3 million slaves were bought and sold by white men
THE CIVIL WAR
1861-1865 north and south fought each other in a civil war
North won On January 1, 1863,
Abraham Lincoln issued the “Emancipation Proclamation” declaring “all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free”
This still did not change attitudes
First appeared in Minstrelsy of the early 19th Century
Thomas Daddy Rice Caricature of his
understanding of black life This name was adopted for the
system of segregation that ruled the south from the 1890s well into the 1960s.
Skin colour determined where one lived and what one was permitted to do.
Jim Crow
Jim CrowSegregation Laws
Who was Jim Crow?
Segregation
ViolenceJim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-Black racism.
Many African-Americans resisted the indignities of Jim Crow, and, far too often, they paid for their bravery with their lives.
Violence was used to keep “Blacks” at the bottom of the racial hierarchy, the most extreme forms of violence were lynchings.
1930’sThe Nineteen Thirties
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
known as the “Dirty Thirties” depression lasted over a decade many people lost everything (jobs, money)
The SCOTTSBORO TRIAL
1931,Scottsboro, Alabama, 9 black men accused and convicted of raping a white woman
Woman later admits to lying Similar to trial in TKAMB
CIVIL RIGHTS
1930s African Americans rebelled against notion of being third class citizens
“Harlem Renaissance” movement but ended because of WWII in 1939
1950s Civil Rights Movement started and laws slowly began to change
By 1964, had more rights than ever before
Nelle Harper LeeAbout the Author
Harper Lee in her father's law office.
Harper Lee in the Monroeville Courthouse.
Best Seller
I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected.
-Harper Lee, 1964
The novel is set in fictional town of Maycomb, but believed to represent Monroeville, her hometown.Similarly, the Characters are fictional, however, there are clear connections between the characters in her story and the relations in her life.
“Nelle had a reputation as a fearsome stomach-puncher, foot-stomper, and hair-puller who could talk mean like a boy.”
“It was true she was tough and independent. She preferred wearing a scruffy pair of overalls to a dress and hanging upside down from the chinaberry tree in her yard to sitting quietly in church.”
“Nelle was just like a boy! She got rid of all her surplus hair in the summer time, and she could climb tall trees. When we played capture the flag at night, she held on longer than anybody!”
“People are people anywhere you put them.”
-Harper Lee,
1961
Discuss the meaning.