Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000)

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Scottsboro: An American Tragedy was released on January 21, 2000, in the USA. The American film was produced by CBS, Chotzen/Jenner Productions, and Come Sunday. The film was written by Barak Goodman and Kay Boyle. The film was directed by Sam. The film was displaying nine African American teenagers who were evicted falsely for raping two white women in Alabama in 1931[1].

Plot

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy Film Poster[2]

A freight train just passed Chattanooga, Tennessee that sets to get to the west. When the train just entered Alabama, two white girls said in public that they just got raped by nine African American teenagers aboard the train. The tragedy occurred in Scottsboro, Alabama in March 1931. Throughout the trial, the evidence is very clear that the teenagers are innocent and the accusation is only a lie. However, the all-white jury found the teenagers to be guilty and sentence them to the death penalty. This has uproared the country which even split the perception of American citizens between the white segregationists who mostly found in the south and the segregationists who mostly live in northern America. Many organizations decided to take part in the trial and decide to assist the teenagers. The assistance has lessened the punishment from the death penalty to imprisonment for several years still, it is a tragedy where prejudice killed innocent children[3].

Controversy

As shown in the film, two white girls lied and accused the African American teenagers of raping girls. All-white juries decided to give a death sentence for them despite the broad evidence that the teenagers were innocent. This decision was found to be biased and based on prejudice. This had outraged many people and organizations who eventually made the country divided as the trial had violated the rights and could kill innocent teenagers. Though the defendants were saved by the assistance of many organizations, they still had to be imprisoned for years and made the teenagers suffer and lost their time, resources, and mental issue that occurred to them[4].

References

  1. Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000). IMDb. Retrieved January 23 2021
  2. Scottsboro: An American Tragedy Amazon. Retrieved January 23 2021
  3. Film Description PBS. Retrieved January 23 2021
  4. ACLU HISTORY: THE TRAGEDY OF THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS ACLU. Retrieved January 23 2021