We live in a very superficial society where it is very easy to fall into the trap of only looking at the surface of people, things, and ideas without taking the time and effort to delve deeper into them. Everyday people are judged solely on the color of their skin. Race is an ideology that was created by society because of how people perceive ideas and faces that they do not normally see. For years, African Americans have experienced a harsh social structure that dehumanized them, while whites’ negative attitudes and perceptions of blacks served as a mechanism to justify their oppression. In today’s society, a person tends to discriminate against someone who may seem different due to their personal narrow-minded concepts built up through living in a nation that has suffered from countless years of racial segregation. The short story, “The Lynching of Jube Benson,” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, revolves around racial politics and portrays how the stereotypes people have of African Americans not only create an inaccurate picture of how they truly are, but generates violence against them as well. Dunbar utilizes his main character, Dr. Melville, to display the misconceptions and stereotypes that whites have developed towards the African American community. “The Lynching of Jube Benson” is a short story in which a white narrator, Dr. Melville, describes his involvement in the lynching of his former black friend, Jube Benson, who was falsely accused of murdering Dr. Melville’s lover, Annie. Unfortunately, Jube was found innocent after he was already lynched. Dunbar presents the viewpoint of the black character through the commentary of the white Dr. Melville. By doing this, the author highlights the kind of understanding that whites have about the black population. Dr. Melville understands the influence of “tradition” and a “false education” on his understanding of blacks. As he recounts his story, he observes that “at fi