Browse Items (63 total)

Viola Montgomery—the mother of one of the Scottsboro Boys, Olen Montgomery—writes to Governor Miller to plead with him for a retrial for her son. She has prayed to God, raised money, and does not know what else to do in order to prevent her son's…

Tuskegee Institute president Robert R. Moton writes to the Governor of Alabama on the school's letterhead, applauding the orderly punishment of crime, but stating that he hopes the courts will be equally just with African Americans as with whites.

Warren P. Norton—the superintendent of public schools in Meadville, Pennsylvania—writes that although the communists of the International Labor Defense have control of the defense for the Scottsboro Boys, people should not keep from protesting…

Two Puerto Rican communists plead with the Governor to postpone the execution of the Scottsboro Boys. The letter makes the case for postponement by advocating against the death penalty in all contexts and asks the Governor to show mercy for his own…

Luke Osburn asks Governor Miller to use his influence to give the Scottsboro Boys a just trial. He writes that he does not criticize the state of Alabama and he is not particularly interested in the Scottsboro Boys themselves, but he is especially…

This letter describes that the two women involved in the Scottsboro case—Victoria Price and Ruby Bates—were dressed in men's clothing and "ho boting," or hoboing, on the train as the Scottsboro Boys were. W. P. believes that the boys did nothing more…

Signed and sent by Elena Paskel, this form postcard is from the Church, School, Fraternal and Social Services Groups of Philadelphia, who cooperate with the Scottsboro Case Committee of Philadelphia. The postcard enumerates the group's appeals in…

Rev. A. V. Pierce, a World War I veteran, wonders why African Americans in the United States may fight for justice but receive none at home. He asks Governor Miller to give justice to African Americans.

A Southern woman living in New York, Anne Pierce argues that, whether the Scottsboro Boys are guilty, their treatment in jail is "a relic of medieval torture quite indefensible." She writes that handling the youth in this manner does not help prevent…

David H. Pierce, president of the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP, writes that he has collected a large file on the Scottsboro case, and given all the information, does not believe the boys to be guilty. He insists that if the Scottsboro Boys are…