In 1931 Alabama, a group of white teenage boys tried to force some Black boys off a train. “This is a white man’s train!” They taunted – and the Black boys fought back.
But after the fight ended, the white boys went to the local authorities, and the nine Black youth were charged with assault!
When police officers searched the train, they found two white women who accused the Black boys of rape! In reality, the women had sexual relationships with some of the white men on the train – but agreed to testify against the Black youth.
The boys were immediately charged with rape, which warranted the death penalty in Alabama. The trial was held in Scottsboro, where they not only lacked adequate legal counsel but faced an all-white judge and jury.
Ultimately, eight of the nine boys were sentenced to death by hanging! But their story didn’t end there.
The American Communist Party and the NAACP soon joined forces to form the Scottsboro Defense Committee. And after three trials and two Supreme court cases, the young men were finally exonerated in 1937.
Although this case resulted in death penalty reform, the reality remains that these teenagers lost their lives – and it’s not just history. The U.S. judicial system still has anti-Blackness at its core, and we must never forget it!