To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about a criminal trial that takes place in a small Alabama town, where a black man named Tim Robinson is falsely accused of raping a white girl. In the book Harper Lee explores the racial injustices found within the education system, as well as the social attitudes of the town, and in the legal system. The education system in Maycomb, Alabama takes place during the Depression era where segregation between the whites and blacks were still a way of life. In the first couple of chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee talks about the racial injustices within the education system and that the state lawfully requires all white children to go to school but says nothing of black children attending. (40) However, the book does briefly mention that the negro children would often times stay home to help their parents with work and that is probably where they most likely received their education, if any was to be given. Another example of racial injustice within the education system was apparent in the Finchs household. Calpurnia, Finchs Negro housekeeper, was one of the few Negroes in town who could read and write. Furthermore, she also taught Scout how to write. However, Calpurnia felt that she needed to keep her education a secret because she didnt want to cause any contention with family or friends within her community. Nor did she want anyone to think she was acting better than they. In addition to this, when Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to church with her they realize that there arent any hymn books for them to sing out of because there are only four black people who can read throughout the congregation. (165) The educational injustice that Lee incorporated into her novel was also an accurate portrayal of life in Alabama in the early 1900s. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, education in the early 1900s was a difficult time for various counties within Alabama because of racism and lack of fundi