the scottsboro boys

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Carolyn Bryant, Ruby Bates, Sarah Page and others.
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Black Press Legend: John J. Oliver Jr. Speaks on Future of Black Newspapers

The future of Black news relies on technology, Oliver says.
02/18/2014

Ala. Board Approves Pardons for "Scottsboro Boys"

Nine Black men were falsely convicted of rape in 1931.
11/21/2013
Keith Boykin, Best of 2012

Commentary: Charles Ramsey and the Racial Politics of Respectability

Ramsey shakes up the image of the contemporary Black hero.
05/08/2013
Chicago Will Play $55K to Tasered Pregnant Woman

Bring That Week Back: Stars Urge Criminal Justice Reform From Obama

9 Photos
Scottsboro Boys Exonerated More Than 80 Years Later

Alabama Lawmakers Vote in Favor to Pardon Scottsboro Boys

The nine Black teens were wrongly convicted in 1931.
04/05/2013

Alabama Legislation to Exonerate Scottsboro Boys

The nine boys were sentenced by an all-white jury in 1931.
02/05/2013

This Day in Black History: April 6, 1931

The first trial of the Scottsboro Boys began in Alabama.
04/06/2012
The Scottsboro Boys\r - Eight Black teenage boys (a ninth boy, only 12, was deemed too young for the electric chair) were sentenced to death for the rape of two white women on a Southern Railroad freight train on March 25, 1931. During the one-day trial in Scottsboro, Alabama, an all-white jury sealed the boys’ fate. Public outcry and demonstrations in Harlem, New York, prompted the Supreme Court to reevaluate the convictions because the defendants lacked adequate defense. Charges were eventually dropped against four of the men. Three were re-sentenced to life in prison; a fourth man, Clarence Norris, was re-sentenced to death. That charge was later reduced to life in prison. In 1976, Alabama Gov. George Wallace, once known for his staunch pro-segregation views, pardoned Norris. The case of the Scottsboro boys remains precedent for controversial, racially-biased convictions and sentencing.\r(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

This Day in Black History: March 25, 1931

The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Paint Rock, AL.
03/25/2012