Title
Letter from Edward S. King in Branchville, Maryland, to Hon. B. M. Miller, in Montgomery, Alabama.
Subject
Scottsboro Trial, Scottsboro, Ala., 1931; African Americans--Civil rights--Alabama; African Americans--Imprisonment--Alabama; Miller, Benjamin Meek, 1864-1944; International Labor Defense; Communism
Description
Edward S. King writes to inform Governor Miller that International Labor Defense lawyers, Allan Taub and Douglas McKenzie, had Communist affiliations.
Creator
King, Edward S.
Source
Alabama Governor, Scottsboro Case appeals to the Governor, SG004234, Folder 2, Alabama Dept. of Archives and History
Date
1931-04-16
Format
Letter
Language
English
Coverage
United States--Maryland--Branchville
Transcription
Branchville, Md.
April 16, 1931
Hon. B. M. Miller, Governor,
Montgomery, Alabama
Dear Sir:
According to an Associated Press dispatch
of yesterday, dated at Birmingham, the International Labor
Defense has issued a statement through two of its repre-
sentatives, Allan Taub of New York, an attorney for the
organization, and Douglas McKenzie, a district representa-
tive, charging that the conviction of 8 colored youths at
Scottsboro last week for attacking two white girls and
subsequent death sentences on the defendants was a "frame-
up from start to finish".
My purpose in writing you is to inform you, if
you are not already so informed, that the International Labor
Defense is a Communist organization whose purpose is to
discredit the courts and institutions of the United States
and incidentally to enrich themselves through contributions
which they are able to secure for defense purposes. They
are not interested in the guilt or innocence of these negroes,
but they are vitally interested in making the negro population
believe that the negro because he is negro cannot get
justice in the courts. This organization has been carrying
on this sort of propaganda for years. See Report of the
special committee of the House of Representatives pursuant
to H. Res. 20 on Communist propaganda; dated January 17, 1931.
Respectfully yours,
Edward S. King
Edward S. King