Introduction
Toni Cade Bambara- Miltona Mirkin Cade- was an African-American film-maker, college professor, author, and social activist. Born in 1939 and growing through the toughest period for the African-Americans, her activism for human rights drove her to author various stories and books on the subject. Among this collection of fiction stories is “The Lesson.” Contextually, this short story highlights the plights and the social dilemma of growing as a child at this point. For one, the 1960s was one of the toughest times for African-Americans- it is the period that social injustices were at their peak. Besides human rights activism sects were mushrooming, leading to the bloodbath by those opposed to their course. African-Americans lived in abject indigence, discrimination and amidst an array of other social injustices. With that in mind, the following historical analysis seeks to examine such social aspects of African-Americans Lives from the author’s lenses.