Black History: Who Were the Scottsboro Nine?

The Scottsboro Nine

Content Warning:  This post contains adult content and is not suitable for children.  

In 1931, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, nine Black teenagers, known as the Scottsboro Nine, were convicted of raping two white women.  The men were completely innocent of this crime.  It took just four days for an all-white jury to convict them.  

 As Paul Gardullo, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, states, there existed "a myth of black predation on white women when the reality was the polar opposite".  In slavery, Black women were routinely raped and Black men, women and children were exploited and brutalised.  

Go here for more about the Scottsboro Nine.  

Ida B. Wells, a tireless anti-lyching campaigner, produced the Red Record, having systematically researched accounts of lynchings which were based on the fallacy of Black men raping white women.  Wells proved that these accounts were wholly false.  

For more about Ida B. Wells, see:  Ida B. Wells:  a Passion for Justice.  

See also:  Black History:  New Revelations about Emmett Till. 

Go here for more of my Black history blog posts.  

I have two questions for you today:  

1) Does this incident remind you of anything that has happened in the past year or few years?; and 

2) If so, what can be done about this repeated pattern?  

I have my own thoughts about this, but I want to know what you think.  

Please comment below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Black History: New Revelations about Emmett Till

Okay, it's not exactly a revelation, but the white woman whose accusation sparked the brutal murder of Emmett Till in 1955 has now, AT LAST, admitted that she lied.

The 14-year-old whistled at a white woman - that much has been made clear by his cousins, who were present at the time of the incident.

But he DID NOT touch her inappropriately.  This white woman has FINALLY admitted that.  So she will not take that secret to her grave.

Of course, Ida B. Wells researched this many decades ago and proved that these allegations that Black men had touched or, indeed, attacked white women were completely erroneous.  They were simply a pretext, used to justify the lynching of Black men, women and children.

Go here for my blog post about Ida B. Wells.

Go here for more Black history blog posts.

Please share these with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.

Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice

Ida B. Wells was a woman of extraordinary talents, energy and vision. In an age when there were no computers, no internet, no Facebook, no fax machines, no text messaging, Ida B. Wells influenced many thousands of people. At a time when women did not even have the vote, Ida B. Wells had a huge influence on public policy. 

Click here to read my review of Ida B. Wells:  A Passion for Justice.  

Bill Greaves is one of the filmmakers featured in Celebrating Black Independent Film Pioneers at the Schomburg.  For details of this and other Black History Month events, see:  Black History/Cultural Events.  See also:  Black Museums.