A Lesson Before Dying

A Lesson Before Dying

How does the quote,"twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person" (Gaines 157) show racial prejudice?

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Because of the laws in place at the time, a black man standing trial was not guaranteed that the jury would include other African Americans, thus, negating a defendants right to a jury of their "peers". In a time when racial prejudice ran rampant, this would mean that the fate of a defendant rilied on twelve people, who may or may not convict based on nothing more than the color of his skin.

This same problem also pertained to women standing trial, as women were often excluded from the jury pool until the 1970's.