In the racist society in A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson, a black man, is found guilty of murder although we, as reader, do not know exactly what happened in the scene. This case is sent to the court, but however, Jefferson’s trial is somewhat predetermined. In a racist society, the white men always think they are superior to the blacks, and they believe black men don’t deserve to be better. In the justice system, the law is not helping Jefferson because his lawyer, the judge, and other member of the jury are all white. His trial is not by his peers, but his “enemy”. Jefferson’s legal right has taken away before he gets to prove his innocence. In addition, Jefferson’s lawyer defends him by saying negative thing about Jefferson to prove Jefferson is too stupid to convict the crime. The lawyer is not using evidence to prove Jefferson’s innocence; rather, he calls Jefferson a hog, which denies his humanity.

In another scenario, the discrimination in the school system is further reflects the inequality in a racist society. Not only the black students do not get enough material in the classroom, the superintendent, Dr. Morgan, in Grant’s class suggest to sent the black children to the field to earn money. He thinks the black children shouldn’t be in the classroom; they are born to work for the whites. Although slavery is banned, Dr. Morgan still sees the black children as physical laborer and he implies that the black children should be working in the field as when they were salves.