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Noir: The Trial of Ruby McCollum

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"The Trial of Ruby McCollum", was the only one in this weeks reading that did not follow the elements of Noir literature. Although, some could argue that this story had one element of Noir literature being Femme Fatale, but even then Ruby was never able to tell her side of the story, not giving us her full character. This story was heavily focused on the racial prejudice surrounding the actual crime, which makes sense since it happened in Florida in the 1950s. This is also the first racial piece of literature that we have read so far. What most interested me was the fact that this story was written by a black woman named Zora Neale Hurston. The reason I find this interesting is that she seemed to be ahead of her time, by that I mean everyone she talked to, black and white, had the same view of the crime "Ruby, she done killed the good-heartedest and the best white man in Suwanee County". (513) where as Zora seemed to be the only one seeing past the veil of racial prejudice. For example, Zora says at the beginning that "My comprehensive impression of the trial was one of a smothering silence." (513) Meaning everyone had decided to condemn Ruby and appraise the not so innocent doctor she had killed. Even Judge Adams seemed to have already decided Ruby's fate when he would not let her tell the full story. It seemed the only ones who wanted to hear the truth were Zora and Ruby's attorney Frank Cannon, "thirty-eight times he attempted to create the opportunity for Ruby to tell her whole story.... thirty-eight times the State objected; and thirty-eight times Judge Adams sustained these objections."(521) Overall this piece was an interesting tidbit to learn how race impacted the court.

Zora Neale Hurston, "The Trial of Ruby McCollum": William Bradford Huie, Ruby McCollum: Woman in the Suwanee Jail (New York: Dutton, 1956), pp. 89-101. Used with the permission of the Estate of Zora Neale Hurston.

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