This is the eighth installment of the Untold Series where I look at some of the most important civil rights cases. I quickly unpack their stories and why I believe they are significant. This series is an adaption to an ad hoc seminar I created while a student at Duke University School of Law.
In this video I look at the famous case of the Scottsboro Boys, the case that inspired Harper Lee to write her beloved novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In 1931, nine black boys, ages 13-19, were arrested, tried and convicted of the brutal rapes of two white women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price. Eight of the nine men were sentenced to death before having their convictions overturned not once, but twice, by the U.S. Supreme Court. This episode discusses the facts surrounding the first case that went to the Supreme Court, Powell v. Alabama (1932).
If You Want to Learn More:
Book:
Black Trials: Citizenship from the Beginnings of Slavery to the End of Caste by Mark Weiner
Documentary:
Scottsboro: An American Tragedy
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
