Scottsboro: An American Tragedy

Essential American history, painstakingly assembled but painful to watch. In the annals of 20th-century American justice, the story of the "Scottsboro Boys" — nine young black men who were accused of raping two white women — ranks high on the list of the most shameful episodes. On March 25, 1931, as a Memphis-bound freight train barreled through northeastern Alabama, a fight broke out between white hoboes and a group of African-American teenagers. The youths managed to toss most of their white attackers off the train, but when the freight rolled into Paint Rock, Ala., an angry mob was waiting. The nine "negro brutes" &#...