What Was The Significance Of The Scottsboro Trials In The 1900's

In the early to mid-1900’s Americans were cruel to African-Americans through racism, segregation, and inequality. The Scottsboro Trials took place in the 1930’s and consisted of nine ‘colored’ men accused of raping two white women on a train. Of course, since life wasn’t exactly fair for everyone during this time, the trials resulted in biased results. Plus, the jury selected, was made up entirely of white men who were clearly in favor of the two white women. The Scottsboro Boys’ Trials eventually shaped the way for the direction in which discrimination in the United States progressed over time.

The Scottsboro Trial created the pathway for other important events soon to happen during the 1900’s. To begin, on March 25, 1931, nine young men were riding a train traveling between
“Although there was overwhelming evidence that no interaction had ever occurred between the women and the black youth,” the trial continued against these nine men (Amistad 2). The men’s names were Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Eugene Williams, and Andrew and Leroy Wright, who was the youngest at age 12. The fact that there was no evidence, yet there was still a trial proves how unfair life was for African-Americans when compared to whites during this time period. Eventually, the trials came to end by saying that, “all but the youngest, who was 12 years old, were sentenced to death” (Thirteen 1). In other words, eight out of the nine men involved received the death sentence for something that they were innocent for. During the time of the Civil Rights Movement, white men and women did not care how African-Americans felt, thought or believed. It was almost as if white thought the African-Americans were worthless. Although most of the men received the death sentence, about a year later, in November of 1932, in Powell v Alabama, the Supreme Court ruled