 NO evidence connecting them to the women  Tried before an all-white jury  Nine black boys were falsely charged with raping two white women in Alabama  Revealed the barbarous treatment of blacks in the South

 Nine black boys were hitching a ride  Illegal use of the freight trains was common for homeless, jobless whites and blacks during the Depression-era  News of jobs in Memphis, TN  In search of survival, they hopped on the Chattanooga train aboard the Southern Railroad freight train

 The nine boys ranged from twelve to nineteen  Didn’t all know one another before the train ride  Some from Chattanooga; some from Georgia  The boys were leaving home in hopes of getting work to help out their families.  Rode in a car that included other white children and adults who were ‘hoboing’ to Memphis  Included two girls dressed in overalls  Our fathers couldn’t hardly support us, and we wanted to help out, or at least put food in our own bellies by ourselves. ~ Haywood Patterson

 March 25, 1931  One of the white kids stepped on the hand of a black boy (Haywood Patterson)  A fight broke out and the black boys ended up getting the win  Ironically, Patterson later saved the life of one of the white boys when he was about to get thrown off the train  The conductor called ahead to report the fight  Police and an angry mob were waiting for the black boys

 They were about to be arrested for assault when the police found two white women dressed in men’s clothes hiding on the train.  Suddenly, the boys were charged with…

 THEIR CLAIM:  They were traveling back from seeking work.  THEIR REALITY:  Victoria Price was known to be the local town prostitute  Ruby Bates was known to have questionable morals at best  When called in for questioning, they were dressed in overalls and were threatened with arrests for: 1. Freight hopping 2. Sexual relations with some white boys on the train

 The women were taken to the jail  Identified six of the Scottsboro Boys as their assailants  A lynch mob of several hundred people gathered outside  They police agreed not to charge them if they claimed that they were raped by the black boys

“As evening came on the crowd got to be to about five hundred, most of them with guns. Mothers had kids in their arms. Autos, bicycles, and wagons were parked around the place. People in and about them. Two or three deputies, they came into our cell and said, “All right, let’s go.” They wanted to take us out to the crowd. They handcuffed us each separately. Locked both our hands together. Wanted to rush us outside into the hands of that mob. We fellows hung close, didn’t want for them to put those irons on. You could see the look in those deputies’ faces, already taking some funny kind of credit for turning us over.”  The State Governor sent in the National Guard to protect the boys.

“ On the night of the first day’s trials we could hear a brass band outside. It played, “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight” and “Dixie. ” It was April 9 when eight of us—all but Roy Wright—were stood up before Judge Hawkins for sentencing… (Of course, they are all found guilty.) …The people in the court cheered and clapped after the judge gave out with that. I didn’t like it, people feeling good because I was going to die, and I got ruffed.”

“It was never in me to rape, not a black and not a white woman. Only a Negro who is a fool or a crazy man, he would chance his life for anything like that. A Negro with sound judgment and common sense is not going to do it. They are going to take his life away from him if he does. Every Negro man in the South knows that. No, most Negroes run away from that sort of thing, fear in their hearts…”

 First trial occurred 12 days after their arrest  THE LAWYERS:  Two court appointed lawyers  Real estate lawyers who had never been in criminal court  One of them was noticeably drunk throughout the proceedings  Chose to try all the boys together

 NO evidence connecting them to the women  Eight of the nine were found guilty and sentenced to death or to years in prison  Twice the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the convictions  Were never let out of custody during the appeals  Haywood Patterson was tried four times for the same crime!

 Before the second Alabama trial of the Scottsboro boys, Ruby Bates, reversed her testimony and denied she was ever raped.  She told the state that her story was a lie but they ignored her.  The defense had to hide her because of death threats.

 Willie Roberson – Exonerated in 1937  Olen Montgomery – Exonerated in 1937  Eugene Williams – Exonerated in 1937  Roy Wright – Exonerated in 1937  Charlie Weems – Sentenced to 75 years (paroled in 1943)  Clarence Norris – Sentenced to death (paroled in 1946)  Andy Wright – Sentenced to 99 years in prison  Ozzie Powell …  Haywood Patterson …

 During his transportation to prison, he managed to get a pen from the deputy and stabbed him in fear of being killed on the way to prison.  He was shot in the head but survived with brain damage.  Was eventually paroled in 1946

 All paroled but Patterson  Patterson escaped in 1948 and fled to Michigan  Three years later, he was convicted of manslaughter and died in prison.

 Carried the stigma of “the Scottsboro boys” throughout their lives.  Some developed drinking problems, contracted tuberculosis in prison, suffered from depression and mental illness.  Roy Wright, shot his wife and committed suicide after returning from war in 1959.

 The last known surviving member of the group, Clarence Norris, fled to the North after his parole in  He was granted a full pardon by the Governor of Alabama in 1976.

 REACTION: Take a quick minute to write a quick reaction to the Scottsboro trials.  Harper Lee used the Scottsboro Boys trial as a guide as she wrote the Tom Robinson trial.  ANTICIPATE: What aspects of the trial do you anticipate being in To Kill a Mockingbird?