To Kill a Mockingbird

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She was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama (the fictional “Maycomb, Alabama”)

Her father “Amasa” was a lawyer whom she deeply admired

Her mother’s maiden name was “Finch”

Her own childhood mirrors that of the character “Scout”

In 1960 she published her only novel – “To Kill a Mockingbird”

It received the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961

Since 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has never been out of print

At age 81, she is alive and resides in New York

She rarely makes public appearances or gives interviews

Slide 18

Life During the 1930s

Race Relations

Nine black teenagers are falsely charged with raping two white women in Scottsboro, Alabama; eight are convicted and sentenced to death

The U.S. Supreme Court reverses their convictions because their constitutional rights had been violated

The teens are tried for a second time, and are again found guilty

The Supreme Court reverses the convictions again

Eventually, four of the defendants are freed; the other five serve prison terms

The last Scottsboro defendant was paroled in 1950

It was virtually impossible for a black to receive a fair trial

Slide 19

Life During the 1930s

The Great Depression sweeps the nation – Many families do not even have money for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.

The per capita income for families in Alabama (and Oklahoma) is $125 - $250 a year

Many southern blacks pick cotton for a living

Franklin D. Roosevelt is President

Slide 20

Life During the 1930s

Hitler is Chancellor of Germany

He believes that Jews, African Americans, and other races are inferior to Anglo-Saxons.

In 1936, Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, traveled to Germany to participate in the Summer Olympics.

Owens’ biggest competitor in the long jump was a German named Luz Long.

Despite racial tensions, the two became good friends.

Jesse Owens won the gold medal and Long won the silver.

Long was later killed during World War II, and Jesse Owens traveled back to Germany to pay his respects when the war was over.

Slide 21

Legal Segregation in Alabama, 1923-1940

No white female nurses in hospitals that treat black men

Separate passenger cars for whites and blacks

Separate waiting rooms for whites and blacks

Separation of white and black convicts

Separate schools

No interracial marriages

Segregated water fountains

Segregated theatres

Slide 22

Morphine: A Southern Lady’s Drug