Sharon Johnson
July 28, 2020
HIUS 222 D04
Family Artifact Assignment
Button Supporting the Scottsboro Boys
Provenance
A pinback button supporting the Scottsboro Boys, falsely accused of rape near Scottsboro,
Alabama, in the early 1900s, is the artifact used. The pinback button artifact is from the
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. There were not any
family artifacts object found at home, the pinback button artifact created by the Eagle Regalia
Company, an American company founded in 1910. The company created this artifact in 1931 to
support the case of the Scottsboro Boys. It is also an artifact that represents the fight against
freedom and oppression of African American people.
Physical Description
The artifact, a pinback button is made from celluloid and metal it can attach to clothing or
fabric. The height and width of the circular pinback button are 7/8 x 7/8 with a red typeface and a
graphic of two arms that represent the international labor defense; there are nine men behind
bending open prison bars. There is big red bold text at the top of the pinback button that reads,
"Save the Scottsboro Boys."
Personal History and Memories
This button created by the Communist organization, International Labor Defense,
represents the United States history on law, defending freedom, justice, defining freedom, and
the race of discrimination in the era of segregation. In early 1930 during the great depression,
many Americans would hitch a ride on freight trains to mover around and search for jobs. On
March 25, 1931, a fight broke out aboard a Southern railroad freight train in Jackson County,
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Alabama, and nine African American youth ranging from ages thirteen to nineteen got arrested
on minor charges. Things took a turn for the worse when the police officer questioned two white
women who were on the train, who at that time, falsely accused the young men of raping them.
The news spread of the alleged rape nationwide, and many angry white mobs surrounded the jail.
The local sheriff had to call the National Guard to prevent a lynching. An all-white male jury
convicted the Scottsboro Boys in April 1931. Therefore the International Labor Defense took on
the boy's case seeing its potential to galvanize public opinion against racism. The IDL held
rallies, speeches, parades, and demonstrations protesting the guilty verdicts. In 1932 the U.S
Supreme court ruled that Scottsboro boys were denied right to counsel and that it violated the
right to due process under the 14 Amendment. There is a landmark decision in the Scottsboro
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Boys case that could help integrate future juries across the nation, and it is called the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The Scottsboro Boys legacy is that Alabama officials eventually let four of the convicted
Scottsboro boys out on parole. In general, the trails and two of the Supreme court verdicts
produced the international uproar over their treatment helped to fuel the rise of the civil rights
movement later in the 20 century, leaving a lasting imprint on the nations legal and cultural
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landscape.
Date or Era
The pinback button created in 1931 showed support in honor of the Scottsboro Boys, who
endured racism, and injustice it was a joy in bringing a long-overdue end to one of the most
notorious cases of racial injustice in the U.S history.
Importance to American History from 1865-Today
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This artifact is essential to American history because it is just one of many objects that
symbolize the fight for black equality, freedom, and justice in America. African American people
have been fighting oppression for many years. This button is just a small reminder of the unequal
system of justice and freedom. The white southerners believed the black man was presumed
guilty until proven innocent instead of innocent until proven guilty. The liberties of the black
people have never been equal since they were brought here unwillingly in the 17 century. The
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Scottsboro case was one of many causes, events, marches, speeches, riots, and protests that
contributed to the fight for equality. To this very day, we still fight to defend freedom in law,
defined freedom, justice, and discrimination. This fight is far from over, but it has gotten better.
Photographs
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