To Kill a Mockingbird - Racial Issues

Essay by jharveyA+, March 2004

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Prejudice and discrimination can be shown in many different forms such as colour, race, gender or discrimination. I will be looking at what Roman Catholics' attitudes are towards prejudice and discrimination and how I think they might support victims of this type of crime. I will be referring to the bible to aid my answers and what fellow Christians have to say on the matter. The recent example I will be looking at is Martin Luther King's work in opposing racism; which is a colour issue.

In the Southern states of America in the 1950's and 1960's discrimination and prejudice against black people was very common indeed. People in the black community feared that the situation was going to escalate and become like that of South Africa where black people's earnings were only about half of those of whites. Many blacks did not have the right to vote and certain public places were said to be for "whites only" Martin Luther King was a Christian campaigned endlessly for equal treatments of blacks and whites.

He refused to support the idea that white people were all evil, as some black radicals believed. Instead, he taught that Christian love was the way forward. "Love," he said, is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. Jesus was Martin's inspiration; King supported non-violent protests and said that it was the way forward. He famously spoke about non-violence and I quote:

" If he does not beat you-good! If he beats you...you develop the inner conviction of accepting the blows without retaliating"

Martin often stated that non-violence worked for Ghandi, the great Indian leader, in getting the British to leave India and this is why he consistently said that the black community should not fight back no matter how much...