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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/

Provider: PBS and WGBH


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The Scottsboro affair began when nine black men were arrested on false charges at a train stop in Paint Rock, Alabama. The ensuing trials held in Scottsboro, Alabama caused a sharp conflict between the North and South. In the end there were two momentous Supreme Court decisions and the Civil Rights Movement was born.

This website provides interviews of the last surviving witnesses to the trials, archival footage and photos, letters, diaries, newspaper editorials, and trial transcripts. It has a timeline of events and an interactive map of the journey taken by the innocent black men. The site also has a section of more detailed information about the people and events of the Scottsboro Affair.

A Teacher’s Guide provides activities in history, economics, geography, and civics. The film and the companion website offer “insights into topics in American history including race relations, civil rights, the Depression, the Communist Party of the United States, and judicial due process.”