What is the importance of "The Lesson"?

One can presume that a history course—the student’s question is categorized under "History"—would include in its required or recommended reading list Toni Cade Bambara’s short story "The Lesson" because of the plot’s emphasis on the legacy of institutionalized racism and socioeconomic inequality that permeates Bambara’s narrative.
"The Lesson" begins in a very low-income community populated by African Americans. The story’s main protagonist and narrator is Sylvia, whose questionable attitude towards life is evident early-on, as when she is describing the people with whom she associates—particularly Miss Moore, the rare educated, informed neighbor whose apparent pride in her heritage is viewed negatively by Sylvia, who describes Miss Moore by saying, "this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup. And quite naturally we laughed at her." Miss Moore, however, makes it her mission, to the chagrin of the neighborhood children, to educate them about the world in which they live. That education includes a lesson on the socioeconomic disparities that have left these children on the bottom of the scale, while rich white people dominate the top. This lesson involves a trip to F.A.O. Schwarz, an upper-scale Manhattan toy store. It is here where these desperately poor children can most readily view the extent to which their lives have been disadvantaged by the color of their skin. No sooner does the taxi carrying Miss Moore and the children pull-up in front of the store than the children are commenting on "crazy white people" because of the latter’s obvious display of conspicuous consumption.
Bambara’s narrative is replete with examples of income inequality and what that means for the destiny of those on the wrong end of the spectrum. Viewing an expensive microscope, Miss Moore asks the children how long it would take for them to save enough money to purchase this item, knowing that the possibility is sufficiently remote as to make the question entirely academic. Spotting an expensive ornate paperweight leads to a discussion among the children and Miss Moore regarding the contrast between children or adults who would spend hundreds of dollars for such a frivolous item and those who can’t afford a desk on which to put a paperweight.
An especially poignant moment in "The Lesson" occurs when the children have finished viewing items through the store’s front window and prepare to enter the high-class establishment. The scene is described by Sylvia as follows:

"Let’s go in," she say like she got something up her sleeve. Only she don’t lead the way. So me and Sugar turn the corner to where the entrance is, but when we get there I kinda hang back. Not that I’m scared, what’s there to be afraid of, just a toy store. But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody. But somehow I can’t seem to get hold of the door, so I step away for Sugar to lead. But she hangs back too."

As Bambara's story reaches its conclusion, Miss Moore asks the children a rhetorical question that nevertheless prompts a telling comment from Sylvia’s friend Sugar:

"Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?"
"I think," say Sugar pushing me off her feet like she never done before, cause I whip her ass in a minute, "that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?"

The reason a teacher or instructor might recommend or require students to read "The Lesson" is because of the story's obvious focus on the economic disparities Bambara suggests are attributable to the country's legacies of racism and capitalism. There is a debate occurring today in academic institutions around the country regarding a potential connection between the political and economic structures that have defined the United States since its inception and the seemingly permanent underclass populated by those who have been historically disadvantaged by virtue of their race. In this sense, the writing of "The Lesson," as far back as 1972, feels prescient.