The Scottsboro Boys

The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenagers who were falsely accused of raping two white women in a train near Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931. The boys’ age ranged between 13 and 19 years old (Bellamy, 2014). The boys were convicted and were facing execution. Their cases sparkled international demonstration and highlighted the extent of racism in the American legal system. The case presented an opportunity for the International Labor Defense, which was the legal front of the American Communist Party, to spread their public opinion against racism (Klarman, 2009). The International Labor Defense propelled a national campaign to make calls for freeing the nine boys. Their approach was through the use of speeches, parades, and demonstrations. Their case was later overturned by the Supreme Court thereby setting a legal precedent for enforcing the rights of African Americans to Adequate counsel and remanded the cases to the lower courts. 

“For the liberty of the nine boys in Scottsboro and against Yankee imperialist domination in Latin America” Article Review

The article highlights the Scottsboro boys’ cases, where the death sentences were imposed on nine young African Americans arrested on trumped-up rape charges in a train in Scottsboro, Alabama, thereby, igniting an international protest. The article analyses Cuba’s Scottsboro defense campaign. The argument presented is that the Scottsboro offered an opportunity to criticize racism against the black community that was on the rise. It was a perfect opportunity to initiate the racial dialogue within the Cuban society (Sullivan, 2014). The article also indicated that the communist-led defense campaign offered a chance for different actors to condemn imperialism and engage in the broader Pan-American rise in oppositional politics. These protests made it possible for the communist party to makes calls in Cuba at a period when the country was characterized by heightened restiveness. It also presented an opportunity to enhance the foundation of ideological connection between anti-racism and anti-imperialism.

Works Cited

Bellamy, J. (2014). The Scottsboro Boys Injustice in Alabama. Prologue-Quarterly of The National Archives and Records Administration, 46(1), 26-34.

Sullivan, F. P. (2013). “For the liberty of the nine boys in Scottsboro and against Yankee imperialist domination in Latin America”: Cuba’s Scottsboro defense campaign. Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 38(2), 282-292.Klarman, M. J. (2009). Scottsboro. Marq. L. Rev., 93, 379.