To Kill A Mockingbird

On July 11th, 1960, the book To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee was first published. It has never gone out of print. It is considered one of the seminal works of American literature, though the only book Ms. Lee ever published. She is still alive but has shunned publicity and has had few comments about the book's impact on racial relations. It has been credited with being one of the factors of the revolution of racial equality that began in the 60's.

The picture of Southern life, set in the 30's, could have easily been translated into the 50's, which is thought to have been Harper Lee's source for much of the material in her book. The characters were similar to her upbringing in rural Alabama, including a father (Amasa Coleman Lee) who represented two black men accused of murder in 1919. Atticus Finch in the novel represented a black man, Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white woman. The relationship of Scout and her friend and next door neighbor, Dill, was not unlike that of Harper Lee and her real next door neighbor, Truman Persons (later Capote).

To Kill A Mockingbird was a realistic depiction of Southern life in the early to mid-20th century, with brilliant characterizations that clearly displayed the social DNA within all of us to fear and hate those who are different from ourselves. My own Southern upbringing was idyllic in many respects for its simplicity and reverence for a Mighty God. It was also, however, fraught with the distrust and dislike of the Negro. It was fine for them to work in the yard or to iron our clothes but that was the subservient position where they belonged. My home was one that had guns at the ready for the coming racial war in America. Martin Luther King was a troublemaker, the race riots were proof-positive that the Negro was ape-like (though we dismissed Evolution) and our best bet was to ship them all back to Africa.

If it were only true that we have outgrown this bitter legacy. But, we know in our heart that bigotry is not regional, nor is it the province of the uneducated, the irreligious or any particular political group. It is in every human heart, to some degree or the other. There is no moral high ground but the simple realization that we all experience, from time to time, contempt for others who we either don't understand or can't identify with. Accepting this truth, we can at least accept that we are all flawed creatures and try to extend the grace and love that has been extended to us by our Creator.

Most of my adult life I spent building a belief system that accommodated my prejudice and rationalized my bitterness. As difficult as it is, somewhere deep down inside I know that by freeing myself of this cancer, I can begin to live more fully and at peace. At least it's a start.