Scottsboro Conviction and Communist Participation: A Precursor to the Civil Rights Movement
This study investigated how the publicity and activism that took place during 1930s Scottsboro trials paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement. My archrival research consisted of analyzing newspaper articles and periodicals from the 1930s and 1950s that pertain to Black Freedom Movement studies. By comparing and contrasting how the various newspapers reported the same occurrences differently because of region, political affiliation, and/or race, I hoped to provide an overview of how certain aspects the Scottsboro campaigns mirrored aspects of the Civil Rights Movement and how the case is significant to the African American experience. The information inferred from the newspaper articles provided a sense of the African American community's response to the Scottsboro case. This research project provides an understanding of the question, "Did the publicity and activism of the Scottsboro case pave the way for the Civil Rights Movement?" by providing examples of how the events of the 1950s and 1960s invoked memories of the Scottsboro boys. This study also examined why the Scottsboro trials are rarely mentioned in history, especially compared to other events during the same time period.
School:
University of West Georgia
Department:
History / Secondary Education
Research Advisor:
James D. Anderson
Department of Research Advisor:
Educational Policy Studies
Year of Publication:
2008