On March 25,1931 Andy Wright,Willie Roberson, Charles Weems, Ozie Powell, Olen Montgomery, Eugene Williams, Haywood Patterson, Clarence Norris and Roy Wright hopped on a freight train.They were a group black boys between the ages of 12-19. It was the second year of the Great Depression and most people couldn't find jobs and didn't have money. The black boys rode the freight train to see if they could find work. Two white women and a group of white boys were also aboard the freight train. While on the train a fight emerged between the black youths and white boys.The blacks succeeded and forced the group of white men out of the train. The white men reported the incident to the stationmaster in Stevenson who made officials stop the train in Paint Rock,Alabama. Armed men rushed to the train as it stopped and took the Scottsboro Boys to a jail in Scottsboro. The boys were only going to be charged for the fight but later authorities found two white women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price, who claimed that the nine boys had raped them.
There was no real evidence that could convict the boys,but since racism was huge part in this period they were charged with the rape of two white women. Ruby Bates and Victoria Price falsely accused the nine boys because they feared of being prosecuted for their sexual activity with the white men . Ruby Bates was 21 and Victoria Price was a teenager. Ruby,Victoria,and the white men agreed to travel together in search for work.
That night of the arrest a group of armed men surrounded the Scottsboro jail hoping for a good lynching. However, the governor of Alabama, Benjamin M. Miller, ordered the National Guard to protect the Scottsboro Boys. After twelve days of the arrest the trials for the Scottsboro Boys began. There were 4 trials in total. Eight out of nine of the Scottsboro Boys were sentenced to death. Roy Wright wasn't sentenced death because he was only twelve. The verdict and sentences caused many to protest up in the North. This case caught the attention of the Communist Party USA and they took over the case. Through it's legal arm, the International Labor Defense, the Supreme Court reversed the convictions. The new trial took place in early 1933. The convictions of this trial were also thrown out by the Supreme Court. In 1937,after several trials and convictions, the charges for four of the Scottsboro boys were dropped. The other five boys served between 6-17 years in prison.
There was no real evidence that could convict the boys,but since racism was huge part in this period they were charged with the rape of two white women. Ruby Bates and Victoria Price falsely accused the nine boys because they feared of being prosecuted for their sexual activity with the white men . Ruby Bates was 21 and Victoria Price was a teenager. Ruby,Victoria,and the white men agreed to travel together in search for work.
That night of the arrest a group of armed men surrounded the Scottsboro jail hoping for a good lynching. However, the governor of Alabama, Benjamin M. Miller, ordered the National Guard to protect the Scottsboro Boys. After twelve days of the arrest the trials for the Scottsboro Boys began. There were 4 trials in total. Eight out of nine of the Scottsboro Boys were sentenced to death. Roy Wright wasn't sentenced death because he was only twelve. The verdict and sentences caused many to protest up in the North. This case caught the attention of the Communist Party USA and they took over the case. Through it's legal arm, the International Labor Defense, the Supreme Court reversed the convictions. The new trial took place in early 1933. The convictions of this trial were also thrown out by the Supreme Court. In 1937,after several trials and convictions, the charges for four of the Scottsboro boys were dropped. The other five boys served between 6-17 years in prison.
Sources
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_scotts.html
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2001/04/scot-a23.html
http://blackamericaweb.com/99700/little-known-black-history-fact-the-case-of-the-scottsboro-boys/
http://socialistworker.org/2012/06/22/the-scottsboro-boys-case
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_scotts.html
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2001/04/scot-a23.html
http://blackamericaweb.com/99700/little-known-black-history-fact-the-case-of-the-scottsboro-boys/
http://socialistworker.org/2012/06/22/the-scottsboro-boys-case