The Scottsboro Boys Trial: A Primary Source Account (Great Trials of the 20th Century)

Sorensen, Lita

ISBN 10: 0823939758 ISBN 13: 9780823939756

Publisher: Rosen Pub Group, 2003

Synopsis

Looks at the case of nine black teenagers who were tried and convicted of raping two young white women in Alabama in 1931, a crime that never occurred and an accusation which engendered a controversy that swept the country.

About this title

From Booklist

Reviewed with Wayne Anderson's The Chicago Black Sox Trial.

Gr. 5-8. These slightly oversize volumes in the Great Trials of the Twentieth Century series have a young look. The texts are short, only 64 pages; there are numerous black-and-white photographs; and the typeface is large. But don't be fooled, the books are packed with information, and the writing styles are sophisticated, fitting the topics covered. Many young sports fans know the name Shoeless Joe Jackson or have heard about the Black Sox scandal, but Anderson goes into great detail, explaining how the plot to fix the World Series of 1919 came about and the how the event transformed baseball. Sorensen gets into some sensitive material as she discusses the alleged rape of two women riding a freight train, including reference to the women's reputations as prostitutes and the "quality" of the sperm found during the exam, but the information is presented within the context of the larger issues of justice and the effect the trial had on the nascent civil rights movement. Each attractive, intelligent offering concludes with a time line, a glossary, a Web site list, and a bibliography. Ilene Cooper
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Edition details

• Publisher: Rosen Pub Group
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0823939758
• ISBN 13: 9780823939756
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64