Similarities Between The Scottsboro Trials And To Kill A Mockingbird

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The Scottsboro Trials and To Kill a Mockingbird
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the famous father named Atticus says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it (Judith 2). This quote is said during a time of intense racism. “Not long after Obama took office, the National Urban League released its 2009 State of Black America report. The findings showed that racial inequities continued in employment, housing, health care, education, criminal justice, and other areas” (Buckley 1). This essay will primarily focus on the criminal justice area of this when discussing the Scottsboro trials and comparing the trials to the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In some schools, To Kill a Mockingbird is mandatory for students to read (“Harper Lee dies at 89: A quiet life, a lasting legacy-- see the photos” 2). Jon Stewart said there is a “gaping racial wound that will not heal yet we pretend doesn’t exist” (Judith 2). There are similarities between the famous Scottsboro Trials and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS
There were nine African American teenagers aboard a freight train during March of 1931 in Jackson County, Alabama (Alex 1). All nine of the teenagers were accused of raping two white women and were convicted by a white jury (1). All of the teenagers except the youngest were sentenced to death (1). This case sparked controversy that continues