The Scottsboro Boys in Their Own Words : Selected Letters, 1931-1950

This is a collection of letters written by nine African American defendants in the infamous March 1931 Scottsboro, Alabama, rape case. Though most of the defendants were barely literate and all were teenagers when incarcerated, over the course of almost two decades they learned the rudiments of effective letter writing and in doing so forcefully expressed a wide range of perspectives on the falsity of the charges against them. They were known as the ""Scottsboro Boys,"" and their incarceration became a cause celebre both in the United States and internationally. Noted social activists, authors, politicians, family members and ordinary people, condemned in letters what they viewed as a prime example of southern American judicial racism. Central to this book is the chronologically structured presentation of letters (1931-1950) that exhibit an intellectual growth and ability on the part of the defendants to effectively express their thoughts about their case and their innocence. In addition there is a selected body of legal correspondence from attorneys and members of Scottsboro support committees that help to contextualise this work. The original grammar, syntax and vernacular of the defendants is maintained in a desire to preserve the original and inimitable strength of these letters.