America’s Unspeakable Tragedy “Racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors, who sear their consciences with more and more lies until they become prisoners of those lies. They cannot face the truth of human equality because it reveals the horror of the injustices they commit.” (King) Throughout the injustices inflicted on the young men that were in the Scottsboro trial made a profound impact on American history, and marks a realization to many Americans during that time period. The Scottsboro Trials, are the greatest American tragedy, that still chokes up anyone who; hears, reads or watches how it unfolded in real life. These multiple unjust trials started on April 9, 1931, in Scottsboro, Alabama, when nine young African …show more content…
Throughout the trials; of the Scottsboro boys, the three trials that were overturned, that the boys were found guilty, and sentenced to death by an electric chair. Not one of those trials had a equal judgement by their peers. There were never any African American jury attendants, white juries in the South just added some black names to the bottom, to insure they were there, on the jury. However, before the last trial this injustice of segregated juries, was exposed. The blame for segregated juries came from the early Jim Crow laws, “ These were laws that banned blacks from activities such as serving on juries, renting or owning land, carrying arms, and even reading among others” (Cates 13). Though, those laws were not enforced anymore in the South, except creepily they still snuck in no African Americans on juries. The Southerners were as cold as frostbite on a bodies appendages. For example, on the first trial of the Scottsboro boys on April 6, 1931, “The Jury pool consisted of 100 white men between the ages of 21 and 65” (Cates 23). Consequently, in February 1935, because of the Southern court system's unfair juries, the Supreme Court determined and verified that the previous cases had been unjust. Additionally, the Supreme Court overruled the verdict, and another trial that was fair was to take place. Also, the Supreme Court said their is no equality in those previous trials, and African Americans were purposely taken off the Jury, to get a guilty verdict, and conviction of the Scottsboro boys. Though, this second chance of a trial would take place in another location, unlike the previous trials. Therefore, through the exposure of the unjust juries in the South, all juries then after had to have equal, multi race jury members, to evaluate a crime, and converse to conclude on a