In what ways is Maycomb the same as it was before Tom Robinson's trial in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Just as Miss Maudie points out the day after the trial, in Chapter 22 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Maycomb has only made a "baby-step" as a result of the trial.

In Miss Maudie's view, Maycomb has made a baby step towards creating a more just society because people like Judge Taylor did what they could to help Tom Robinson. Judge Taylor did what he could by appointing Atticus, who likewise did all he could by putting his all into defending Robinson. As Miss Maudie further points out, though it was impossible for Atticus to actually win the case, he was at least capable of making the jury members think long and hard about their decision.

Yet, Miss Maudie is perfectly correct in asserting that Maycomb has only made a "baby-step," meaning that very little has changed because the step is too small to even be noticeable. Maycomb is still the same with respect to its racism and its other prejudices.

Racism is especially seen in the townspeople's reactions to Robinson's death. According to Scout's narration, the townspeople said very negative, racist things in reaction to Robinson's death such as how it's "[t]ypical of a nigger to cut and run" and how, despite the fact that Atticus might have been able to get a judge to overturn Robinson's sentence, it's typical of someone like Robinson to "just run blind first chance he saw" (Ch. 25). The townspeople's most racist comments reveal their prejudiced belief that all African Americans are inherently evil and immoral, as we see in the following:

Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneer's mighty thin. Nigger always comes out in 'em. (Ch. 25)

Even Maycomb's other prejudices remain the same, which is why when Arthur Radley rescues the children by taking Bob Ewell's life, Sheriff Taylor fears Arthur's exposure and talks Atticus into dropping the matter. As Sheriff Taylor explains to Atticus, if Arthur is exposed for his courageous deed, which can easily be misconstrued as evil by many townspeople, the townspeople would start knocking on his door endlessly. Sheriff Taylor phrases his warning in the following:

To my way of thinkin', Mr. Finch, taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight--to me, that's a sin. It's a sin and I'm not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man, it'd be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch. (Ch. 30)

Sheriff Taylor's speech shows us that some people, like himself, have changed by becoming more open-minded; it's open-minded to value Arthur's courageous action and want to protect him. Yet, his speech also shows that there still exists in Maycomb a need to protect people like Arthur due to the prejudices of the vast majority of Maycomb's people.

Hence, like Miss Maudie said, though the town has made a "baby-step," they still need to progress much farther to be able to relinquish their racist and prejudiced views, and that major step may never really take place.