1. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the American South in the 1930s. It was written and
published during the Civil Rights Movement. Up until the 1960s, schools in many Southern states
were segregated, meaning that white and black students could not be in school together. In this
picture, the girl on the left appears to be the only black student in the classroom. She is facing a
white girl directly, holding a notebook and looking a bit anxious and expectant. The white girl
across from her is leaning forward as if she is talking to the other girl. This may have been the
first time these two girls had ever even sat near each other, much less talked together.
Desegregation of schools was one of the most important goals of the Civil Rights Movement of
the 1950s and '60s.
It provides context for the time period during which Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird.
It provides evidence for why To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the American South.
It helps the reader understand why schools were desegregated during the 1960s.
It helps the reader understand the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird.