Mary Badham, the Oscar-nominated actress who portrayed Scout in the beloved movie "To Kill a Mockingbird," disagrees with critics about the new Harper Lee release, "Go Set a Watchman."

Critics have been quick to pan "Go Set a Watchman," saying it portrays Scout's father, Atticus, as a racist.In Mockingbird, Atticus stands up in a racist climate to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is wrongly accused of raping a white woman; in Watchman, critics say, Atticus associates with people who are bigoted and expresses similar views."People who are saying that about Watchman must not have read the whole book, especially the last three chapters, and they seem to be saying those things for shock value and to sell their magazines and newspapers," Badham said.Badham confirmed this week that she'll be speaking at Lehigh Carbon Community College Oct. 15.Linda Baker, Executive Director of College Relations for LCCC, said that the college will soon be releasing details for the time and location.Badham has spoken nationally and internationally on the theme of tolerance, and the importance of education in teaching tolerance. Her lecture will take place during the national Banned Books Week."It (To Kill a Mockingbird) was pulled from shelves in a number of places, so it's a good fit for Banned Books week," Badham said in a phone interview Wednesday."If you teach children to love to read, they will never be bored and education is the key to freedom; ignorance is the root of all evil."The speaking engagement is timely, with many still abuzz about the July 14 release of Lee's novel, "Go Set a Watchman.""Go Set a Watchman," which tells the story of Scout as she is a young adult in her 20s, living in New York, was actually the first draft Lee sent to a publisher.The editor liked Lee's flashbacks to Scout's early life and had her rewrite the draft, using the flashbacks as the basis for "To Kill a Mockingbird.""If you read the book, you'll see that Atticus is exposing Scout to racist views, as a test for Scout, to see if he's prepared her to go out in the world, that she's able to stand on her own two feet and stand up for what she believes."She does prove this, and Atticus says he is proud of her," she added. "He also tells her that he loves her."In that way, Mockingbird and Watchman are similar in that beliefs are challenged, and strong people aren't afraid to show a good moral base, she explained."To Kill a Mockingbird is a story of hope, and it's also a story of lessons we still haven't learned," Badham said. "It's not just about black and white. What's the big picture? Tolerance."If you have a good strong family unit, and strong communities, you'll have a strong country," she added. "It bleeds into one another if we fail our children, we fail our country."Badham, who had no prior acting experience, was chosen from a field of 4,000 hopefuls for the role of Scout or Jean Louise Finch. Her mother was a leading actress in a theater group based in Birmingham, Alabama, and had learned of the casting call for the movie.Badham, then 9, would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the youngest person ever nominated. (Patty Duke would win that year for her role in "Miracle Worker.")Gregory Peck, who played lawyer Atticus Finch in the movie, won the Best Actor Award. Badham and Peck's family have been life-long friends."Gregory Peck was a lot like the character of Atticus Finch, a lovely human being," she said. "As a parent, and in the role of Atticus Finch, he taught us that in order to get the respect of your children, you had to be a role model."He was a voracious reader, kept up on what was going on in the world," Badham said. "After I had lost both my parents, he and Brock Peters (who played the wrongly-accused Tom Robinson in Mockingbird) picked up the banner and helped raise me.""He (Peck) would often call to keep in touch," she recalled. "He'd always start the conversation by saying, 'How are you doing? What are you reading?'"Badham was 18 when her mother died, and her father passed away five years later. In the years following the movie's release, whenever Peck was on the East Coast, he would send Badham a ticket to where he was so that he could take her to lunch. Brock Peters delivered the eulogy at Peck's funeral in 2003. Peters died in 2005.Badham also starred in two 1966 movies, "This Property is Condemned" (with Robert Redford and Natalie Wood), and "Let's Kill Uncle."She appeared in a 1963 Dr. Kildare episode and a 1964 "Twilight Zone" called The Bewitching Pool, which was the final episode of the series. After those roles, she concentrated on completing her education, with no regrets.The role of Scout was a perfect fit for her, because as a youngster, she was a lot like Scout."I was very much a tomboy, and I had my opinions and voiced them," she said. "I was often in trouble for speaking my mind."That role (Scout) was perfect and I'm proud to have been part of something that was so important, and continues to be so important," she said. "The film was a major part of my life, and it's also been a great teaching tool."