1. To Kill A Mockingbird

2. Major Historical Happenings... • Jim Crow Laws • Scottsboro Trials • Recovering from the Great Depression • Racial Injustice • Poor South

3. Jim Crow Laws • After the American Civil War most states in the South passed anti-African American legislation. These became known as Jim Crow laws. • These laws included segregation in… • Schools -- Hospitals • Theaters -- Water fountains • Restaurants • Hotels • Public transportation • Some states forbid inter-racial marriages

4. Jim Crow Law Continued. These laws were instituted in 1896 and were not abolished till the late 1950’s (even then still not completely).

5. Scottsboro Boys Trial • 9 young African-American men (ages 13-20) accused of raping 2 white girls in 1931 • Immediately sentenced to death • Trials went on for nearly 15 years before all the men were dismissed

6. How it all went down Started on a train bound for Memphis Several white men boarded and picked a fight with the black men Whites were forced off train by the 12 black men. The white men reported the the black men had raped two white girls on the train to authorities They were immediately arrested and tried in front of an all-white jury. The trials caused a huge uproar amongst the black community.

8. Harper Lee

9. Wrote To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 • Based the story on her life growing up in Monroeville, Alabama • TKAM was the only novel she ever wrote

10. The character of “Dill,” Scout and Jem’s playmate in the novel was based upon Lee’s actual neighbor, Truman Capote • Capote is famous for amongst other things, In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. • It has been said that he gave Lee Mockingbird as a gift.

11. In 1962 the novel was turned into a film starring Gregory Peck. • It received a humanitarian award and several Academy Award nominations

12. The End