Segregation In The Scottsboro Boys

Boarding the train from Chattanooga to Memphis seems like an innocent thing to do (“UMKC” par. 2). For the Scottsboro boys, boarding that train was one of the worst things they could have done. Two dozen whites and black road the train that day, and within the first

The Scottsboro trials happened in the 1931 and dragged on for years. These cases were solely based on the prejudice surrounding blacks and gender. The cases presented in the Scottsboro Film represented the fight for justice. Nine boys were wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for years while society used these young black mens oppression to further its own agenda.These cases ruined the life of nine young men but they also helped make dramatic, vital changes in the criminal justice system and the constitution. The misfortune of the nine men tried and convicted during this time opened the eyes of so many blind to the injustice that african americans suffer from still to this day. The Scottsboro trials greatly defined the future of the criminal

There were many forms of discrimination in America. Discrimination was everywhere in the 20th century, and the population most affected by this were African Americans. Two of the most critical injustices committed in America during the 20th century were the development of the Jim Crow laws and school segregation. However, these injustices have been rectified as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and the decision of the supreme court of Brown v. Board of Education which brought important changes to African Americans.

Scottsboro case was at first led on March 25, 1931, in Scottsboro Alabama. The case included dark young people who later ended up noticeably celebrated as Scottsboro Boys. Young men included Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Andy Wright, Willie Robertson, Ozie Powell, Eugene Williams, Charlie Weems, Roy Wright and Haywood Patterson. The named dark young people were dishonestly charged to have posse assaulted two white ladies. This case wound up plainly a standout amongst the most disputable and confounded cases in the historical backdrop of United States of America.

Can racial bias have an effect on the verdict of being guilty or innocent? The American judicial courtroom has been comprised of the nation’s many greatest racial discriminatory cases over the past century, but the most racially upstanding case, when referring to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird includes The Scottsboro Trials. Both stories uprise in the 1930s, displaying a white supremacist mindset, which two cases fall into the conviction of rape. The Scottsboro case started on a train to northern Alabama to southern Tennessee, when nine African American boys, ranging in ages from 13-19, allegedly raped two “innocent” Caucasian women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Racial discrimination uprises in American judicial system when shown in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Trials through the racial prejudice within the jury in the courtroom, easy accessibility to target African Americans, biased accusations, as well as the social pressure to serve in one’s defense.

Can anyone truly be sure if what a person is saying is the truth if there isn’t proof to show it? This question is one of the many jurors have to ask themselves while making decisions in cases with purely circumstantial evidence. On March 25th 1931, Haywood Patterson, Clarence Norris, Andy Wright, Roy Wright, Ozzie Powell, Willie Roberson, Charles Weems, Eugene Williams, and Olen Montgomery- also known as the Scottsboro boys, were charged with rape by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. The girls claimed to have been raped by the Scottsboro boys after fighting broke out between them and a group of white men. The alleged crime happened on a train, during that time period hoboing- travelling by train in search of jobs, was incredibly popular. Key witnesses to this trial were the Scottsboro boys, the 15 white men on the train, Dr. R. R. Bridges- the doctor who examined the women after the alleged rape, and the eyewitness Ory Dobbins. The final verdict in the trial let four of the Scottsboro free while four were sentenced to serve in prison for a long period of time and one was sentenced to death (The Trials of "The Scottsboro Boys": An Account, Linder). The Scottsboro boys trial was unfair and biased due to public, media, jury bias, incorrect trial proceedings, and finally witness bias.

The nine men stood before Judge A. E. Hawkins in the courtroom of Scottsboro, Alabama. Later, Patterson described the scene as “‘one, big smiling white face’” (Linder). Stephen Roddy and Milo Moody were the attorneys who represented the boys. The attorneys would not be described as a “‘Dream Team”’ as they were very unprepared and said to have a drinking problem (Linder).

According to Merriam-Webster the word “segregation” was first known to be used in 1555. It is defined as the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforcing or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means.

The Scottsboro boys arrest and subsequent trials reflect the social, political, and racial divisions in America based on how everything revolved around and connected with the trials. The social aspect was demonstrated by the trial because the Caucasian women who claimed they were raped, did it to avoid the consequences of the Mann Act (outlawed travel for prostitution and human trafficking). The Mann Act itself represents the moral progressive reforms that were written by the influence of progressive thoughts during that time period. The economical struggle can be seen as man and women are riding trains to just about anywhere with jobs and women were in such financial situations that they had to sell sex to basically survive. The political

In the mid 1900’s segregation was at its peak. White males would be prejudice over Black males. They had different schools, developments, and transportation for each color. The more dominant color of white men and women would get the nicer facilities. White children would not talk to black children or play with them. Although they were all people they were not seen as equals. The Scottsboro Trials are an example of how everybody’s views on society were biased towards the fact the whites were greater than blacks. Nine black men were accused of rape by two white women while riding a freight train departing from Paint Rock, Tennessee for Memphis, Tennessee.

Currently in the United States of America, there is a wave a patriotism sweeping across this great land: a feeling of pride in being an American and in being able to call this nation home. The United States is the land of the free and the home of the brave; however, for the African-American citizens of the United States, from the inception of this country to midway through the twentieth century, there was no such thing as freedom, especially in the Deep South. Nowhere is that more evident than in Stories of Scottsboro, an account of the Scottsboro trials of 1931-1937, where nine African-American teenage boys were falsely accused of raping two

Racism is often recalled as the fight between blacks and whites in America, but the thing that nearly all people forget is why racism really showed up. I think that there were a lot of things that lead up to racism, though I can conclude that racism is the idea that people used to explain the fight that people had for power. Power is what everybody wanted and people don't want to be seen as less than somebody because they want to have high self-esteem of themselves (Routledge). Primarily the fight for power was for whites only because whites looked to gain more power and they didn't want blacks to gain or have any power. One critical event that I can relate racism to is the Scottsboro Trials. The Scottsboro trial was a trial that was between

Almost every member of the black community in Maycomb County is admirable in their personalities and innocent in their nature, and this generalisation makes the crimes against the black community all the worse. Tom Robinson, a man discriminated and accused of a crime that he didn’t commit has come forth to the justice system. The color of his skin determines everything from his background too if he’s guilty or not. A black man’s life is unable to prove innocence because of his race. Poverty has affected many people back in the 1960’s but, if a black man or women were to experience this they would be put on the white

The United States thought their worries on major issues of injustice and racial inequality were stories of the past, yet it never resolved and is present today. One of the most well-known, boy group to face racial injustice and tragedy was The Scottsboro Boys “who were falsely accused of rape by two white women in 1931” (The Mercury News). After more than 80 years, they were officially pardoned in April 2013. In which, “it was long overdue” (The Mercury News) and unfortunate since all of the boys died prior to the pardon. However, with Alabama trying to “repair its own legacy, and correct past injustices,” it is attempting to move forward as a state. In addition, a similar problem of racial injustice, in New York, is the stop-and-frisks law

Protest against injustice is deeply rooted in the African American experience. The origins of the civil rights movement date much further back than the 1954 Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which said, "separate but equal" schools violated the Constitution. From the earliest slave revolts in this country over 400 years ago, African Americans strove to gain full participation in every aspect of political, economic and social life in the United States.