Accused!: The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment

An ALSC Notable Children's Book * A Kirkus Reviews Best Book * A Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

This chilling and harrowing account tells the story of the Scottsboro Boys, nine African-American teenagers who, when riding the rails during the Great Depression, found their lives destroyed after two white women falsely accused them of rape. Award-winning author Larry Dane Brimner explains how it took more than eighty years for their wrongful convictions to be overturned.

In 1931, nine teenagers were arrested as they traveled on a train through Scottsboro, Alabama. The youngest was thirteen, and all had been hoping to find something better at the end of their journey. But they never arrived. Instead, two white women falsely accused them of rape. The effects were catastrophic for the young men, who came to be known as the Scottsboro Boys. Being accused of raping a white woman in the Jim Crow south almost certainly meant death, either by a lynch mob or the electric chair. The Scottsboro boys found themselves facing one prejudiced trial after another, in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in U.S. history. They also faced a racist legal system, all-white juries, and the death penalty. Noted Sibert Medalist Larry Dane Brimner uncovers how the Scottsboro Boys spent years in Alabama's prison system, enduring inhumane conditions and torture. The extensive back matter includes an author's note, bibliography, index, and further resources and source notes.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Calkins Creek Books
Published: 10/15/2019
ISBN: 9781629797755
Pages: 192
Weight: 1.06lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.80d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2019 pg. 209
Booklist 09/01/2019 pg. 86
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2019
School Library Journal 11/01/2019 pg. 80

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 508738 / Accused! the Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment
Reading Level: 8.3 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 6