The best answer to this question comes at the end of the trial, at which point Atticus delivers his famous closing speech. The following excerpt is particularly important in the context of this question:
"And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to 'feel sorry' for a white woman has had to put his word against two white people's... The witnesses for the state... have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women..." (207)
In this section of his closing speech, Atticus points out the racist assumptions that led to the unjust accusation of Tom Robinson. Far from being a villainous criminal, Tom Robinson is a virtuous man who has been accused of rape simply because he is black, and Atticus goes to considerable lengths to pound this notion into the heads of the jurors. By doing so, Atticus attempts to teach the other residents of Maycomb some empathy. He reveals Tom Robinson as a victim powerless in the face of systematic racial oppression, and the realization of this fact is meant to inspire an empathetic reaction. In short, Atticus tries to encourage Maycomb to show Tom Robinson some human empathy, rather than regarding him as an inferior being. The efficacy of this effort is questionable (Tom Robinson is still found guilty of a crime he didn't commit), but the gesture remains an important attempt to force the residents of Maycomb to treat Tom Robinson with empathy.
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