Sharif Perkins
Law Through Literature
Research Paper
Inequality has been the biggest thorn in social progression in
the United states since its birth, which made it impossible for
the oppressed to establish âself relianceâ.
To begin the discussion I wanted to examine the events the
âMississippi Burningâ as it speaks closely to the topic at hand.
The film took place in the state of Mississippi as the title
suggests and though fictional, it outlined some of the rash
circumstances that Blacks faced at the time. Amongst the many
ways the KKK oppressed the people of color was the burning of
churches in mass. From a social standpoint these actions
demonstrated that they do not allow freedom religion to blacks,
a way to keep the people of color absent from society in a
sense. One motive behind this was to keep the people from
Perkins 2
establishing or maintaining the unity they have as a race; to
keep them separated in a sense as the oppressed people are
weaker alone as opposed to in a group. They burned these
churches in attempt to also burn their beliefs, to give them the
outlook that there is no salvation for the life of blacks in
Mississippi. Indicated by some of the music in the film, the
tunes suggest to the people not to fight back; they suggest
salvation is with god, to turn the other cheek and not to fear
death. The idea which I believe the director wanted to highlight
was that the lyrics in the film was possibly the only faiths
that the people of color had to go on. These burnings happened
on a daily basis which make for a strong point that a large part
of the white community in Mississippi were strongly against any
kind of social progression even within the black community
themselves. The goal that Mississippi had in mind during the
Perkins 3
times of the Mississippi burning trials and before that the
blacks stay separated, alone, and oppressed. Emmerson said âif
you wish to be the non-conformist, the world will whip you with
displeasureâ and practicing religion for people of color was
against the norms of society therefore society took a stab at em
every time they got.  During the Film the FBI ask questions to
several people of color to aid in their investigation with the
missing civil rights workers. The interesting part about the
individuals that were questioned is that they either were killed
or beaten by the whites just for speaking to the police. Theres
a notion to âtrust thyselfâ and speak from the inmost which
Emmerson emphasizes a bit; that you arenât whole unless you
speak from your heart. To take a look at the circumstances, if
the Blacks spoke from their heart then they would be killed. The
Perkins 4
rules were simple for blacks in Mississippi at the time, keep
your mouth shut, eat, sleep, work, and thats it. When the
country originates from morales like these it leaves a scar in
the history of the country and the remnants of that scar is what
adds yet another roadblock in social progression today.
Beginning in the 1890âs there would be laws that would provide
one of the biggest stains in American Society which was the
upbringing of the Jim Crow laws. For over 50 years these laws
would continue to be in effect and these laws suggest âseparate
but equalâ treatment between white and colored folk(PBS 1). It
divided the society in almost every way possible from separate
schools and parks, even down to separate busses ad trains(PBS
1). This idea of separation goes against the very fabric of we
consider this day and age to be a functioning society as all its
Perkins 5
members cannot conform to the same interests. Despite the law
saying âseparate but equalâ, the âequalâ end of the stick that
blacks received would prove to be substandard on nearly every
level. Think about these laws then contrast them to this broken
quote that âSociety everywhere is in conspiracy against the
manhood of every one of its members⌠Society is a joint-stock
company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of
his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and
culture of the eaterâ(Emmerson 3). To take a step back into the
film mentioned earlier the Sheriff of the film said âtheres two
types of culture down here, the white culture and the black
cultureâ. If you examine these two notions the blacks born into
the states during the Jim Crow era essentially arenât born into
American culture but cheated into the unfair black culture by
default just for being in society. The Jim Crow laws speak to
Perkins 6
the many issues we face in present society. Today in 2015 they
donât call it âSeparate but Equalâ but the concept is still
alive on a more economic scale. To take in one direction lets
talk about the educational system from the view that inequality
is heavy amongst the poor but it isnât directly stated that way.
According to an analysis written by Joshua Berry, âinequality in
education caused by taxation of property valuesâ or property tax
for short(Berry 2). This form of inequality is designed in a way
to keep the poor/uneducated in the same position by undermining
their education which limits their opportunities to those where
their educational criteria is accepted. From this standpoint the
same economic consistency will remain amongst these low income
neighborhoods due to the educational inequality. This brings me
to the famous notion that the rich will stay rich and the poor
Perkins 7
will stay poor. The jim crow laws that have oppressed this
country are mostly absent these days but they will always be
present in subtle ways like the way i mentioned above.
Race wasnât the only finger that society used to point the
hand of inequality at, being a woman was more than enough reason
to be considered unequal. During the early 1900âs women were in
a position in society where they spend their whole life growing
up for a man to marry, impregnate them, and raise kids/care for
the household. This scripted life wasnât one that was chosen but
one that was imposed. This was essentially the shape of the
American society before the year of 1960 which would change
everything. The sexual revolution brought fourth the first ever
contraceptive for women which would forever bring American
culture in a new direction. Prior to the pill pregnancy would be
Perkins 8
the worst type of setback to happen to a female interested in
pursuing a career of any sort as theyâd be forced to quit their
future due to the current limitations in contraception. Kids and
the âFamilyâ oriented tradition is what the American society was
all about in the early 1900âs and the pill was an attack against
these very morales. âIn 1961, only 2 percent of law degrees, 4
percent of MBAs, and 6 percent of medical degrees were conferred
on womenâ (Cohen 1). This shows just how few women achieved
success given the blatant handicaps and double standards society
threw their way. Despite these advances in sexual freedom and
the ability to pursue a career without worry of pregnancy, women
still to this day face the hand of inequality. âWomen still
earned only 77 cents for every dollar that men earned in
2012â (Basset 1), and today in 2015 the figure hasnât moved a
penny. Just that figure alone puts a stain on how how the
Perkins 9
american society pictures women, that though they are all
members of society they are still less than men.
The ideas behind self reliance werenât werenât intended for
all individuals as many of the couldnât follow the many ideals
that came with being âself reliantâ. The ideals mainly entail
speaking  from your heart, not conforming to the norms of
society, trust thyself. The problem is that if an african
american didnât conform to the will of society in a slave
oppressed time period, heâd be killed. âFor non-conformity the
world whips you with displeasureâ and from the females
perspective in the 1900âs they wonât conform to society if they
take attempt to live the âself reliantâ lifestyle. The only
group that was seemingly allowed to express individualism were
the white males.
Perkins 10
Here I have proved and guided you through the the struggles of
both females and african americans alike and to this day the
struggle continues. Through the constant force of oppression
upon the oppressed, obtaining self reliance for them. It poses
difficult for one to love thyself if society constantly whips
your kind with displeasure and inequality. The word âniggerâ
which is used as a derogatory term for african americans should
also be used to identify women as well. Reason being is that one
thing that the american society has done consistently is prove
time and time again that women are âless thanâ.
