Imagine living under the thumb of a legal system that failed to provide equality of rights, based on the color of one’s skin. This was especially true for black’s living in the South during the early 20th century. With little federal oversight and even less concern for the civil rights of minorities, the story of Jefferson in Earnest Gaines masterpiece “A Lesson Before Dying”, accurately illustrates a black man’s struggle for a …showed first 75 words of 1025 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1025 total…X, but also by some you may never have heard of like Irvin Mollison or Macon Bolling Allen. These Americans, and many like them, were the catalysts for the abolition of unfair laws and the reformation of the legal system we enjoy today. Examining the history of “Jim Crow” laws, American legal reformers, and reform law is the best way to understand our past transgression and to ensure we are not doomed to repeat them.