The Scottsboro case revolved around nine innocent African-American teenagers charged with the gang rape of two white women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, on a train in 1931. It dealt with issues of racism, prejudiced juries, and rushed trials, causing it to be cited
The Scottsboro trials were a overcomplicated trial to nine black teenagers who were convicted for a crime they had not committed. It all happened when two women who were crossing into a different state illegally. To be able to get a chance to get into the state they yelled rape as the nine boys came off the train (Claudia). The boys were instantly taken to the jail and a trial was instantly made. There were numerous amounts of evidence supporting the boy’s innocence.
In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, cruelty comes up again and again as a central theme and driving force in the plot. The novel takes place during the Great Depression, a time period where segregation is the norm, and cruelty is commonplace. The main character, Scout, grows up seeing all of this, and questions it. She watched racism take place around her, and grew up throughout the course of the novel, and found that even though the events that transpired were unpleasant, they made her a better person.
Trains brought spectators to an execution. Vendors sold ice cream and lemonade a hangings” (Fremon 37). It was one thing to kill someone, but it was another to kill someone publicly. The fact that white people made the event seem like a normal outing is appalling. Selling the refreshments was just going too
The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee and the article “Scottsboro Boys Trial” both contain controversial court cases. For “To Kill a Mockingbird” a black male named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. In the “Scottsboro Boys Trial” nine young black men and teenagers are accused of raping two white females named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Both cases transpired in the 1930s in Alabama. This is bad for the accused as racism was at an all-time in the 1930s especially in the deep south.
"Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped on." (Pierre Berton) The Scottsboro Trials impacted America in a way that cannot be explained by words.
He shows how he feels about the whole case and how the boys were falsely accused. He focused on how the boys’ “innocence never go the attention that their guilt did” (Wilder). These boys were guilty from the very beginning until proven innocent thirteen years after the crime was committed. Usually it’s the other way around and a person is innocent until proven guilty. The public was so caught up in the prejudice of the case and just assumed since there was a high crime rate in black and Hispanic boys that they had to have done it.
To the eyes of the White southerner all they want to is lynched. “The mob decided to take the remaining brother out to Camp Parapet and hang him there” (Document 73, pg. 99). Well found out that White mob would lynched family members or friends if they could not find the suspect. This brother of the suspect is innocent and did not rape White women, however, he was hung because of the hatred White men hold toward his brother. This is not about punishing crime, but to control or oppress them to social, economical in the society.
Disclosed here is the true account of the slaying in Mississippi of a Negro youth named Emmett Till. Last September in Sumner, Miss., a petit jury found the youth's admitted abductors not guilty of murder. In November, in Greenwood, a grand jury declined to indict them for kidnapping. Of the murder trial, the Memphis Commercial Appeal said: "Evidence necessary for convicting on a murder charge was lacking."
Racism played a part in the Scottsboro trials in many ways. Racism is an act of discrimination against ones race. Racism is motivated in many ways. People use it to boost their self-esteem to make them feel better about themselves. Structure is another part; whites want to have what they are familiar with and do not want change among society.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an important text worthy of all the recognition it received in the time following its original publication.
The Scottsboro Trials and To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the famous father named Atticus says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it (Judith 2). This quote is said during a time of intense racism. “Not long after Obama took office, the National Urban League released its 2009 State of Black America report. The findings showed that racial inequities continued in employment, housing, health care, education, criminal justice, and other areas” (Buckley 1). This essay will primarily focus on the criminal justice area of this when discussing the Scottsboro trials and comparing the trials to the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
This essay will be about two injustices the Scottsboro trial and Tom Robinson’s trial. A few similarities are that they were treated unfairly and they were all accused of a repulsive crime, raping a white woman. In the Scottsboro trial though, two women were supposedly raped. Both trials happened in the same time period, while also noting that the women in both trials came from poor backgrounds. Atticus gave his all to his case while the nine young men’s lawyer also tried his best.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee presents a large social atmosphere that includes many different cultures and extremes. The story takes place in the southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. This novel illustrates how the southerners perceived different ideas about each other and social norms. It is told through the eyes of a young girl, Scout Finch, as she is growing up and becoming influenced by societal attitudes. Throughout the course of this book Scout learns many lessons including: how a society functions, why there is conflict between different cultures, and what makes cultures different from each other. Harper Lee utilizes functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to convey how
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The author Lee demonstrates some major themes such as social inequality, intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery through this character. The title To Kill a Mockingbird symbolises innocence where Lee explores this through the eyes of Jem and Scout who are kids of Atticus Finch. He is one of the most honest, patient, kind, fair, respected and admired men in Maycomb during the Great Depression. Atticus is known for his moral character throughout the book. He is a talented man, he is good at a variety of things from being the best checker player in the town to being an honest and fair lawyer, and he can even play the Jew’s harp. Atticus is seen as a great father even though the odds are against him he does not give up therefore he is admired and respected for his courage. His attitude and personality does not change. For instance Miss Maudie says, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets”