January 1937
Despite Ruby Bates recanting her accusation in 1933 and testimony that the alleged rape was fabricated, Alabama courts continued to convict Scottsboro defendants. Haywood Patterson was convicted four times. Clarence Norris was sentenced to death three times. Ozie Powell was shot in the head by a sheriff during transport. Four defendants were released in 1937 after plea negotiations; Norris received a new death sentence in 1938. Patterson was not released until 1950. Charlie Weems served until 1943. The last defendant, Andy Wright, was paroled in 1950 — 19 years after a false accusation. Patterson escaped Alabama in 1948 and was never returned.
Richard Wright's 1937 'Blueprint for Negro Writing' and his 1938 collection 'Uncle Tom's Children' — which included 'Big Boy Leaves Home' and 'Long Black Song' documenting racial terror and violence — established Wright as a major literary voice of resistance. Growing up in Mississippi and working with the WPA Writers' Project in Chicago, Wright created unflinching portraits of how systemic racism produced poverty, violence, and psychological devastation. His work directly contradicted the era's media caricature of Black Americans as happy, ignorant, or criminal.
Events
- 1937Scottsboro Defendants: Years of Imprisonment Despite Recanted Accusations
Despite Ruby Bates recanting her accusation in 1933 and testimony that the alleged rape was fabricated, Alabama courts continued to convict Scottsboro defendants. Haywood Patterson was convicted four times. Clarence Norris was sentenced to death three times. Ozie Powell was shot in the head by a sheriff during transport. Four defendants were released in 1937 after plea negotiations; Norris received a new death sentence in 1938. Patterson was not released until 1950. Charlie Weems served until 1943. The last defendant, Andy Wright, was paroled in 1950 — 19 years after a false accusation. Patterson escaped Alabama in 1948 and was never returned.
- 1937Scottsboro Defendants: Decades of Imprisonment Despite Recanted Accusations
Despite Ruby Bates recanting her accusation in 1933, Alabama courts continued to convict Scottsboro defendants. Haywood Patterson was convicted four times. Clarence Norris was sentenced to death three times. Ozie Powell was shot in the head by a sheriff during transport. Four defendants were released in 1937 after plea negotiations; Norris received a new death sentence in 1938. Patterson escaped Alabama in 1948. The last defendant, Andy Wright, was paroled in 1950 — 19 years after a demonstrably false accusation. The case demonstrated that no evidence threshold could overcome racial presumption of guilt in Alabama courts.
- January 1937Haywood Patterson Convicted for Third Time Despite No Evidence
Scottsboro defendant Haywood Patterson was tried for the third time after his second conviction was reversed. His accuser Ruby Bates had recanted entirely, and the prosecution's medical evidence had been discredited. An all-white Alabama jury convicted him anyway and sentenced him to 75 years. He escaped prison in 1948.
- 1937Richard Wright Documents Racial Terror: 'Blueprint for Negro Writing' and Early Work
Richard Wright's 1937 'Blueprint for Negro Writing' and his 1938 collection 'Uncle Tom's Children' — which included 'Big Boy Leaves Home' and 'Long Black Song' documenting racial terror and violence — established Wright as a major literary voice of resistance. Growing up in Mississippi and working with the WPA Writers' Project in Chicago, Wright created unflinching portraits of how systemic racism produced poverty, violence, and psychological devastation. His work directly contradicted the era's media caricature of Black Americans as happy, ignorant, or criminal.