(Published 1968, 1979, Paperback Edition 462 pages)
Mr. Carter's thoroughly-researched, revised edition published in 1979 made my blood boil. The railroading of nine, illiterate, clueless teenagers based on the extremely blatant lies of Victoria Price and to a lesser extent Ruby Bates highlights some of the worst aspects of the humans condition. The rape of the two prostitutes in a railroad gondola supposedly occurred on March 25, 1931. There was no question that the boys were innocent, but racist, hillbilly, Alabama justice overrode treating the African-Americans as human beings. Granted, you will see that the teens were not model citizens. They came from horrible backgrounds compounded by the Depression, Jim Crow laws and unjustified long jail time, they never had a chance in hell of getting a fair shake out of life.
While the innocence of the teens is unquestionable, the motivations of certain parties is more complex. The zealous, nutty International Labor Defense, which was an extension of Stalin's Communist Party, initially saved the young African-Americans from death by electrocution, but after that caused much more harm than good. The odious Alabama Attorney General Thomas Knight was motivated by political ambition. Blatantly racist Judge William Callahan made a mockery of the judicial system. There are some individuals who's integrity made them shine during the Scottsboro fiasco. Three individuals especially stand out as exemplars of high character: Judge James Horton, attorney Samuel Leibowitz and Pastor Allan Knight Chalmers. The NAACP, who should have spearheaded the boys' defense, were more concerned about their reputation than the boys lives. Also, Mr. Carter's book was originally published in 1968 and he had claimed Victoria Price and Ruby Bates were dead. When NBC broadcast a tv movie based upon excerpts of his work, the very-much-alive ladies sued. The revised edition includes his journal of what occurred during the 1977 trial.
Mr. Carter's excellent, academic-but-readable book shows that the pursuit of justice can cause odd alliances. The depths of Alabama's racist, anti-Semitic attitudes is truly breathtaking. The oodles of death threats received by defenders of the Scottsboro boys; the decades of exclusion of black on juries; Southern law enforcement habitually ignoring Constitutional rights; and deep hatreds of Northerners are also shown in their ugly glory. "Scottsboro" is great history and a perfect example of the darker aspects of racism which are still very with us today.
While the innocence of the teens is unquestionable, the motivations of certain parties is more complex. The zealous, nutty International Labor Defense, which was an extension of Stalin's Communist Party, initially saved the young African-Americans from death by electrocution, but after that caused much more harm than good. The odious Alabama Attorney General Thomas Knight was motivated by political ambition. Blatantly racist Judge William Callahan made a mockery of the judicial system. There are some individuals who's integrity made them shine during the Scottsboro fiasco. Three individuals especially stand out as exemplars of high character: Judge James Horton, attorney Samuel Leibowitz and Pastor Allan Knight Chalmers. The NAACP, who should have spearheaded the boys' defense, were more concerned about their reputation than the boys lives. Also, Mr. Carter's book was originally published in 1968 and he had claimed Victoria Price and Ruby Bates were dead. When NBC broadcast a tv movie based upon excerpts of his work, the very-much-alive ladies sued. The revised edition includes his journal of what occurred during the 1977 trial.
Mr. Carter's excellent, academic-but-readable book shows that the pursuit of justice can cause odd alliances. The depths of Alabama's racist, anti-Semitic attitudes is truly breathtaking. The oodles of death threats received by defenders of the Scottsboro boys; the decades of exclusion of black on juries; Southern law enforcement habitually ignoring Constitutional rights; and deep hatreds of Northerners are also shown in their ugly glory. "Scottsboro" is great history and a perfect example of the darker aspects of racism which are still very with us today.
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