Iowa Public Television

American Experience

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (#1310)

In 1931, two white women stepped from a box car in Paint Rock, Alabama to make a shocking accusation: they were gang-raped by nine black teenagers on a freight train. This began one of the most significant legal fights of the 20th century. The trial of the nine falsely accused teens would draw North and South into their sharpest conflict since the Civil War, yield two momentous Supreme Court decisions and give birth to the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to its historical significance, the Scottsboro story is a riveting drama about the struggles of nine innocent young men for their lives and a cautionary tale about using human beings as fodder for political causes. [86 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.