The Scottsboro Trials Essay -- essays research papers

Imagine beingness a black teenager in the s issueh amid the great depression. It was stiff enough for vacuouss to find jobs during this time I cant even begin to fathom what it would be like being black seeking a job. Many blacks sought hoboing as a common recentime seeing it as an adventure to get them from one teeny job to another. And this is where the story of the Scottsboro Boys begins. aboard a to the southern railroad car was a young black youth named Haywood Patterson. He clutched to the side of the car as it careened back and forth all over the rusty tracks. Across the top of the car walked a young flannel man. Every time this man would walk past Patterson he would step on his fingers. Patterson finally said to the man, whenever you need to get through, tell me and I will move my hand. The young man believed that he did not have to beg someone to move their hands, especially a nigger. This outraged him and he began to shout obscenities and racial slurs at Patterso n. Soon after, a rock n roll throwing fight erupted between the white hobos and the black hobos that were riding on the find out. All but one white youth was forced of the train by the rocks. This white youth named Orville Gilley was pulled back on. The train itself was picking up speed and Gilley could have gotten killed. A local stationmaster was told the attack by the white hobos that had been thrown away of the train. This stationmaster wired forrader to the next stationmaster to let him know of the situation. As the train slowed down and came to a stop in Paint Rock, Alabama, those that were accuse of the future crime had no telling what they were going to be up against. Once in Paint Rock, 9 black youths were rounded up, tied in concert and taken to prison in Scottsboro Al. Here the boys were placed in a jail cell awaiting their charges. Little did they know an additional charge was going to be added that never even cover their minds. While in Paint Rock 2 young women gre eted the Posse that came to round up the men from the train. One of these women (Victoria Price) told the posse that she had been pillaged by a gang of 12 blacks with pistols and knives (Linder, n.d.).They were escorted into the jail so that Victoria could point out her attackers. Here she claimed 6 of the 9 men had raped her. T... ...oys found their way out of Alabama (Linder, n.d.).Andy Wright was the last to leave Alabama in 1950. Some of the boys wrote books on their experiences. The case showed just how indifferent jurors were in the south during the 1930s, how two women could ruin the lives of 9 men and how politically minded everyone was involved in the trial. The Scottsboro Trials was the only case in history of the US that produced the most trials, convictions, reversals and retrials. In the end this case allowed juries to be open to blacks and helped to ease racial tensions in both the south and north. Reference ListGoodman, J. (1994). Stories of Scottsboro The rape cas e that shocked 1930s America and revived the agitate for equality. New York, NY Pantheon Books.Norris, C., & Washington, C. D. (1979). The Last of the Scottsboro Boys an Autobiography. Toronto, Canada Putnam Books. Linder, D.O. (n.d). The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys. Retrieved March 14, 2005, from http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/SB_acct.htmlPBS. (1999-2000). Scottsboro Timeline. Retrieved March 27, 2005, from http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/timeline/index.html The Scottsboro Trials Essay -- essays research papers Imagine being a black teenager in the south amid the great depression. It was hard enough for whites to find jobs during this time I cant even begin to fathom what it would be like being black seeking a job. Many blacks sought hoboing as a common pastime seeing it as an adventure to get them from one small job to another. And this is where the story of the Scottsboro Boys begins. Aboard a southern railroad car was a young black youth named Haywood Patterson. He clutched to the side of the car as it careened back and forth over the rusty tracks. Across the top of the car walked a young white man. Every time this man would walk past Patterson he would step on his fingers. Patterson finally said to the man, whenever you need to get through, tell me and I will move my hand. The young man believed that he did not have to ask someone to move their hands, especially a nigger. This outraged him and he began to shout obscenities and racial slurs at Patterson. Soon after, a stone throwing fight erupted between the white hobos and the black hobos that were riding on the train. All but one white youth was forced of the train by the rocks. This white youth named Orville Gilley was pulled back on. The train itself was picking up speed and Gilley could have gotten killed. A local stationmaster was told the attack by the white hobos that had been thrown off of the train. This stationmaster wired ahead to the next s tationmaster to let him know of the situation. As the train slowed down and came to a stop in Paint Rock, Alabama, those that were accused of the future crime had no telling what they were going to be up against. Once in Paint Rock, 9 black youths were rounded up, tied together and taken to prison in Scottsboro Al. Here the boys were placed in a jail cell awaiting their charges. Little did they know an additional charge was going to be added that never even crossed their minds. While in Paint Rock 2 young women greeted the Posse that came to round up the men from the train. One of these women (Victoria Price) told the posse that she had been raped by a gang of 12 blacks with pistols and knives (Linder, n.d.).They were escorted into the jail so that Victoria could point out her attackers. Here she claimed 6 of the 9 men had raped her. T... ...oys found their way out of Alabama (Linder, n.d.).Andy Wright was the last to leave Alabama in 1950. Some of the boys wrote books on their exp eriences. The case showed just how indifferent jurors were in the south during the 1930s, how two women could ruin the lives of 9 men and how politically minded everyone was involved in the trial. The Scottsboro Trials was the only case in history of the US that produced the most trials, convictions, reversals and retrials. In the end this case allowed juries to be open to blacks and helped to ease racial tensions in both the south and north. Reference ListGoodman, J. (1994). Stories of Scottsboro The rape case that shocked 1930s America and revived the struggle for equality. New York, NY Pantheon Books.Norris, C., & Washington, C. D. (1979). The Last of the Scottsboro Boys an Autobiography. Toronto, Canada Putnam Books. Linder, D.O. (n.d). The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys. Retrieved March 14, 2005, from http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/SB_acct.htmlPBS. (1999-2000). Scottsboro Timeline. Retrieved March 27, 2005, from http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/ timeline/index.html