To Kill A Mocking Bird

Harper Lee

• While reading To Kill a Mocking Bird, we all would come to realize that Atticus Finch, in his quest for racial equality and his commitment to nonviolence, shared a lot in common with Martin Luther King. But when we reach to a final discovery, we find that we weren't the only ones who saw this connection; so did King himself.

• In fact, King actually makes an allusion to Atticus in his 1963 book Why We Can't Wait.

The Atticus reference occurs in a chapter called "The Sword That Heals," which is itself part of a metaphor King uses to describe "the just and powerful weapon" of nonviolence.

King alludes to a moment in Mockingbird when Atticus goes to the local jail to protect his client, a black man named Tom Robinson, from a mob that wanted to attack him.That's the incident in Mockingbird. Here's what King had to say about it in Why We Can't Wait:

"We are a nation that worships the frontier tradition, and our heroes are those who champion justice through violent retaliation against injustice. It is not simple to adopt thecredo that moral force has as much strength and virtue as the capacity to return a physical blow; or to refrain from hitting back requires more will and bravery than the automatic reflexes of defense.

"Yet there is something in the American ethos that responds to the strength of moral force. I am reminded of the popular and widely respected novel and film To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, a white southern lawyer, confronts a group of his neighbors who have become a lynch-crazy mob, seeking the life of his Negro client. Finch, armed with nothing more lethal than a lawbook, disperses the mob with the force of his moral courage, aided by his small daughter, who, innocently calling the would-be lynchers by name, reminds then that they are individual men, not a pack of beasts.

"To the Negro of 1963, as to Atticus Finch, it had become obvious that nonviolence could symbolize the gold badge of heroism rather than the white feather of cowardice.“

Martin Luther king was an African- American clergyman who was born in 1929. His father and grandfather served as pastors of the Baptist church in Atlanta and he later became a pastor of the Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery in Alabama (Alabama is also where Atticus Finch originated from. King also led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world.

He was a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race just like Atticus Finch, who was also a strong worker for gaining justice and civil rights but unlike King - who did this for people of his race - Atticus gained civil rights for members of a different race for the black community. King always led colored organizations of the nation . He adopted ideals from Christianity to apply them in this nation and throughout the novel we can feel that Atticus was also adopting his beliefs leading justice from Christianity.

Martin Luther King and Atticus Finch can be better defined as two men whose characters are nearly the complete opposite of the general population of the town or country. People were able to rely on Martin Luther King because he was truly a self-reliant person, and so did Atticus. This is clear when Mrs. Maud - a character in To Kill A Mocking Bird - quoted "We're the safest folks in the world, we're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got Atticus to go for us“

Martin Luther King always did an appearing wherever there was injustice, protest and action. For instance, he led a bus boycott that lasted for 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. In comparison to Atticus, who chose to defend Tom Robinson because to choose not to would be going against all his personal morals and principles. Atticus didn't see Robinson as a man from a different race, but he did see past a man’s color and looked into the depth of his character .He expresses his firm belief while addressing his daughter Scott "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Typically, as every other figure who stood against the beliefs and concepts of his own society, Martin Luther King and Atticus had to pay for it. During the days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, and he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a black leader of the first rank. So did Atticus who received several threats. The first incident was when Atticus went to the local jail to protect his client, Tom Robinson, from a mob that wanted to lynch him. The scene gets tense very fast, with the men telling Atticus to get out of the way and let them do their thing. Suddenly, Atticus' daughter Scout - innocent as always - comes out of the shadows and recognizes the leader of the gang; he's the father of one of the boys in her class. When she calls the man, Mr. Cunningham by name, the mood changes; it's as if just the simple act of hearing his name awakens Mr. Cunningham to his potential actions, even shames him. The gang disperses, and the crisis is averted. Later, Atticus -ever the wise sage - says the incident reinforces the fact that "a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they are still human".

Another threatening incident was when Bob Ewell spat in his face, all Atticus said was " I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco". This also indicates how a moral peaceful person Atticus is, and not to forget to mention when Bob Ewell went after his two kids and attacked them.

Martin Luther King directed a peaceful march in Washington DC of 250,000 people where he addressed his most famous speech "I have a dream". The most favorable part in the speech was when he said " I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where, they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This quote is actually similar to Atticus' when he said "But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal -there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court."

This is a picture that is popped in half of the kinder gardens and middle schools in the States that depicts what Martin has addressed during his “I have a dream” speech. In the portrayal we can see that the nation no matter how small or big, white or black, mature or immature, American or Asian, They are all equal ,born equal, and they all stand in front of every single obstacle they’ll encounter.

This is some information about Martin Luther King, whose sense of legacy will always be present in our lives:*He became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize award for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination by using non- violent methods through his career*He was also among the principle leaders of the civil rights movement*He was an advocator for non- violent protest who also became a symbol of protest in the struggle for racial justice *He refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam war from a religious perspective.*He was awarded the Presidential Medal for freedom in 1977*He was awarded Congressional Gold Medal in 2004*Martin Luther King day was established as a US national holiday day in 1986

Martin Luther's life ended in a tragic way. He was assassinated on April 4,1968 while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city. Even though King passed away, yet he still exists in our lives. However, Atticus did not die by the end of the novel. To conclude, those two men are immortals, long lasting immortals in their beliefs and strong morals.

“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world: My own government, I can’t be silent” – Martin Luther King. This quote is one of the most influential quotes that were said by one of the most inspirational, phenomenal figures of all time. Interestingly, this quote resembles several quotes that were said by Atticus.

•"The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box."

•"What did your father see in the window, the crime of rape or the best defence to it?"

•"The witnesses for the state... have presented themselves to you gentlemen... in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the... evil assumption... that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber."

•"I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system -- that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up."

If we looked deeper at both of King and Finch' quotes we can sense that those two men had to voice their inner beliefs not caring if those beliefs will lead them to being abandoned and marginalized in society, They had to, just like Gandhi had to because he was born to do it. Both -as I see it from my point of view- are compared of being the modern Gandhi’s, a Black Gandhi and a White one!.

Martin Luther King, just like the rest of us, is an ordinary human after all, and it is completely normal for him to encounter different varieties of obstacles. On one normal day, King was hanging out at his friend’s office, at the time where he was going through a hard depression and was on the verge of giving up. His friend knew what he was going through a hard time so he told him to relax and grab the newspaper to distract himself from everything. King started flipping through the pages of the newspaper and came across a cross-word game. King never played this game in his entire life and when he started collecting words he found out that the nouns and verbs illustrate his whole beliefs and it was a direct message from God that wanted to proceed in what he was born to do in the first place.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little on 1925 in Nebraska. His father,Earl little was an outspoken Baptist minister and supporter of the black nation organization . Earls civil rights thoughts always had him receiving death threats from the white supremacist organization. His father’s body was found lying dead across the town and the ones who were responsible for his murder were the white supremacist organization.

Malcolm X was smart, and he always wanted to be a lawyer, but his favorite teacher told him that his dream of becoming a lawyer was “no realistic for nigger”. This made him dropout of school which led him to move to Boston to work in odd jobs. Several years later he was convicted of burglary charges; he was sentenced to 7 years in prison which made him proceed with his education, but this time it wasn’t the traditional education it was a religious one. He started studying the teachings of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Mohammad.

Here is a great deal of information about Malcolm X*

In 1953, Malcolm became the minister at the Nation of Islam’s organization’s Boston Mosque and several other mosques during the following years.

*He was the one to find the Nation of Islam newspaper.

*At the beginning of the 1960’s, Malcolm was invited to participate in numerous debates, including radio stations, universities to talk about Islam and the right of

equality for African American. He also appeared on the TV program “Open Mind.”

*The New York times reported that Malcolm x was the 2nd most sought after speaker in 1963.

*He lead one of the nations largest civil rights events known as the unity rally in the states.

He was the one to convince the famous boxer Casius Clay to convert to Islam and join the Nation of Islam organization. Casius changed his name to

Mohammad Ali

His death was Tragic. He died in 1965 at the age of 39 when three gunmen shot him 15 times on stage during a speaking engagement in Manhattans ballroom.

Malcolm X wanted to be a lawyer- just like Atticus Finch , but as mentioned before, he was drifted away by an ugly truth that did hurt him of not becoming a lawyer. He was an angry black man, just like Atticus Finch who was a white angry man towards his society and if we look at some of Malcolm’s quotes he shares some seemingly conservative views that are similar to Atticus:

On Freedom

“When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to

acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won’t do to get it, or what he doesn’t believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn’t believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom

will do anything under the sun to acquire . . . or preserve his freedom.”

On gun control:

It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law.”

On Race

“I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.”

On self reliance:

“I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.”

On education:

“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”

Racism in The Music Industry

An influential figure arrived in a world that also applied injustice when it came to Music. Michael Jackson was the first person to break racial barriers.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, singer-songwriter, Humanitarian and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time . His contribution to music, dance and fashion made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. He was and will always be this figure who made it through history. Throughout his life he gave and spread an amazing amount of justice.

MJ broke down racial and cultural barriers on MTV. He revolutionized Music Television. He had made a profound effect on the MTV culture. NO other Artist has had such an impact on the world, culture and MTV, than the King of POP, Michael Jackson.

It was Michael Jackson who changed the music video from a mere promotional tool featuring musicians playing instruments and singing, to a piece of art with a storyline, or as Michael likes to put as 'short films' that carried direct messages to stop racial acts and apply justice.

Mtv never had African - Americans on MTV channel until Michael Jackson debuted his thriller song that was and still, a massive hit. Black people were not allowed on Mtv because of their color, even the most famous of them like Whitney Houston,Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner...etc they were not allowed in radio channels too. Black artists were able to preserve their copyrights when they didn't have in one in the first place. it is a song that promotes racial harmony.

To Kill a mocking bird was one of Michael Jackson’s favorite books of all time. I can’t help but feel the similarities between the trial in the book and what Michael Jackson had to go through in LA. They don’t lynch black men from trees now, its just a lot more subtle.

I have read that to kill a mocking bird was one of Michael Jackson’s favorite books and I can easily understand why it might have been. Tom Mesereau, who defended Michael Jackson in the 2005 trial, is a modern day Atticus Finch.

Finally, to conclude the whole concept of the Novel in addition to relating it to every single aspect in our daily life, it can all be summarized into 8 words that were said by Scout Finch “ It’s a sin to Kill a MOCKING BIRD” . So stop killing our mocking birds !!!

DONE BY – Haneen Munzer Amireh