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A brief history of racism in america
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More handpicked essays just for you.
A brief history of racism in america
Racism in the scottsboro case
American history racism before 1877
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Rabina Mainali Sign 111 Dr. Dulan 3 November, 2015 Witnesses of the Scottsboro trials The Scottsboro trials came about during the year 1931 when Great Depression had hit the South hard. In search of work several individuals boarded a freight train from Chattanooga to Memphis, Tennessee not knowing their future ahead wasn’t so bright. While in the train a white man stepped on a black man’s hand, later identified as belonging to Haywood Patterson. A fight between the white youths and Patterson’s
In To Kill a Mockingbird by harper Lee, despite of him having a public trial, Tom Robinson, an innocent man was proven guilty, also his trial that was completely and utterly unfair, one-sided, and even discriminatory. This novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, a made up town. Robinson was working for the Ewell’s and one day Tom was invited into the house to fix a door. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and abusing a white woman, Mayella Ewell, when her father is the one who abused her. The jury had a lack of evidence to prove that Tom was guilty, and also ignored the evidence that proves his innocence.
The Scottsboro boys trial and the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill a Mockingbird are similar for these reasons. Mayella Ewell represents Victoria Price and Ruby Bates because Mayella made the crowd fell bad for her because she was a white, shy, and an unstable women. I think Lee kept these details the same because in the Scottsboro trial Price and Bates were the ones “raped”, and in the Robinson trial Mayella was the one “raped”. As I said Price and Bates are being represented by Mayella in the Robinson trial. Another similarity was that both trails were about rape.
Both the cases of Tom Robinson from the book to kill a mockingbird, and Emmett Till were judged in front of an all white all male jury and they both lost. There were a lot of similarities in the cases the white people got away with what they did. Emmett Till was murdered after he was dared to talk to a white woman and her husband, Roy Bryant ,and his half brother, J.W. Milam kidnaped and beat Till and finally killed him. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white girl.
Imagine that your living in the 1930s, you’re a white woman, and you had just gotten “raped” by a black man or group of black men. This exact scenario happened in the critically acclaimed book To Kill a Mockingbird and in the real-life court case deemed the Scottsboro trial. Which in both the book and the court case, the characters, and people were shaped and influenced by society to become victims and accusers. This paper is going compare and contrast how the fictional character Mayella and the non-fictional plaintiff Victoria Price and Ruby Bates as painted victims and accusers by society.
Annotated Bibliography Altman, Susan. “Scottsboro Trial.” Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2000. African-American History.
The Emmett Till case and Tom Robinson’s case in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are similar because they both involve unfairness due to racial injustice. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson was wrongly accused of raping a white woman and even with jury knowing that he didn’t actually rape her, he was still convicted of the crime. Tom’s lawyer, Atticus Finch had a lot of supporting evidence that proved that Tom did not rape the woman and everyone had just disregarded it because whether he did it or not, they could not let a black win over a white.
From the crime to the trial, there are parallels between the crimes and trials. On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, a tiny community in northern Alabama, and nine young African American men who had been riding the rails were arrested. Two white women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price, descended from the freight cars, and accused the men of raping them on the train. As a result, the accused men were taken to the Scottsboro jail.
Nine boys Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Eugene Williams, and Andrew and Roy Wright were accused of raping two white women on a freight train, on March 24, 1931. The boys were caught for illegally riding on a freight train, and were originally charged with that until one of the police found the two white women VIctoria Price, and Ruby Bates and pressured them into saying that the boys had raped them on the freight tra in. All the Scottsboro boys were sentenced to death in the first trial, except Roy Wright who was only 13 was sentenced to life in prison. After two more trials with an all white jury, got the attention of the nation because it was showing how racist the U.S court system was. Ruby Bates eventually went out and retold her statement saying that she was pressured into telling the jury that the Scottsboro boys had raped them.
The Similarities between The scottsboro case and To Kill a Mockingbird From books to real life cases, one can see the American system of injustice towards the blacks of America and its lopsided juries. A system of which if you’re born of the wrong skin, you are judged with no crime being committed. A country where when you have a dark complexion, you are guilty until proven innocent. In To Kill a Mockingbird and Scottsboro boys, we meet different figures who all in common, are prejudice, racist, and ignorant. Even so, we still meet people who stand for what is right, especially since the evidence points towards their innocence.
The Scottsboro trial and the Tom Robinson trials are so complicated because of all the false evidence and lying involved. Harper Lee made the book To Kill a Mockingbird from the real world events like Scottsboro trial with the Tom Robinson trial. Two girls that were ¨raped¨ falsely accused nine black men, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price said they were raped when they were prostitutes, they were illegally going across the state to get money, knowing that prostitution that was illegal in Alabama. The Tom Robinson Trial only had Mayella Ewell that accused Tom falsely, Mayella stating ¨she was on the porch when Tom Robinson came by, she asked him to chop up an old piece of furniture for kindling, and when she went inside to get a nickel to pay him he attacked her from behind.¨(Lee, chapter 18)
Injustice The Scottsboro Case shed light on the racial practices expressed in law that made a great impact on the legal system today. The actual victims of the Case did not receive a fair trial due to the color of their skin. The ones who played the victims planned the crime, and their stories made no sense. But like many of the trials during the time it wasn’t based on the actual evidence that was found,or even the defendants ' stories.
Tom Robinson’s trial in the novel was likely influenced by the Scottsboro trial. There is not only fear between blacks and whites but also within their own races. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson’s trial was based off of the Scottsboro trial in order
Contrary to popular belief, racism is still well alive in the United States, even in the 21st century. Many attempts have been made to terminate the unwanted social injustice, but its presence is still plainly evident today. Still, there have been many citizens who have become blind to racism. Despite slavery being abolished, and segregation outlawed, racism still exists. A minority in the United States would easily be able to explain in detail the evident facts of racism today, while most white persons will tell you that the country has reached racial equality.
Because the jury did not favor black men, Tom Robinson did not receive a fair trial, although Atticus made a great case. Segregation directly disobeys the fourteenth amendment, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” Maycomb Alabama is where the story, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. Tom Robinson’s trial out come was not based on factual evidence. Mayella was lying to the jury, while Tom was completely innocent.