Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South
Dan T. Carter
A book-length account for readers who want more detail.
1931–1935 · Scottsboro and Decatur, Alabama
The Scottsboro Nine
Disputed justice
Photo credit
Unknown authorUnknown author / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain. Cropped/resized.Photographs are cropped to fit. Photo dates and original images are available through the source credits.
Nine Black teenagers were accused of rape after a confrontation aboard a freight train in Alabama. Rushed trials, inadequate representation and racial exclusion from juries turned the prosecutions into a national struggle over justice. Supreme Court decisions arising from the cases addressed counsel and jury discrimination.
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The Story
When1931–1935
WhereScottsboro and Decatur, Alabama
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Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000)
Film / television guide
A documentary perspective to explore alongside the written sources.
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Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
The Scottsboro Boys
A museum blog examines the Scottsboro defendants and their place in art and civil-rights history.
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Books
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Books
1 itemsDan T. Carter
Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South
Historical study recommended in PBS’s reading guide. A companion resource to the documentary, not presented here as its sole source.
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Movies & TV
Movies
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Film / television guide
Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000)
Documentary film about the prosecutions and the nine young men. PBS provides the film page and transcript; streaming access may vary.
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Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South
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Fiction Work
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BRING YOUR PERSPECTIVE
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News & Reading
More Reading & Audio
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Smithsonian Magazine · Free Article
Who Were the Scottsboro Nine?
An article providing additional historical reporting and context for this story.
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Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South — Ebook
Dan T. Carter. Related reading for The Scottsboro Nine. Check participating libraries for this edition. Borrowing requires an eligible library card; availability and waits vary.
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Google Books · Catalog / Availability
Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South
Dan T. Carter. Related reading for The Scottsboro Nine. Book information and any pages made available by Google Books; this is not a promise of full-text access.
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Reading Access Notes
Search reviewed 2026-09-16. Sources searched: Google Books, Internet Archive, Open Library, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atavist Magazine, Google Books (case/title search), Scribd, Everand, OverDrive and hoopla (combined title search). Search indexing is incomplete; this is not an exhaustive list of the web. Access can change by edition, country and library membership. Library loans may require sign-in or a wait. Everand titles may need a paid subscription; a trial is not permanent free access. Scribd documents are third-party uploads, with uploader details noted where checked. We link to source pages and write our own descriptions rather than reproducing copyrighted books.
A separate Texas Monthly search was blocked by the publisher’s automated-access rules and could not be verified.
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Court & Files
Court records & documents
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Positive Outcome
Positive Outcome
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Documented laws, advocacy and reforms. Listing a change does not claim it is effective or universally supported.
Constitutional ruling · Supreme Court opinion
1935: Norris v. Alabama: racial exclusion from juries
The Supreme Court rejected systematic racial exclusion from jury lists in a case arising from the Scottsboro prosecutions. Justia reproduces the published opinion; it is not the full trial file.
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