The NAACP, The Communist Party, And The Scottsboro Case
The NAACP, The Communist Party, and The Scottsboro Case OR African Americans and the New Deal
The assignment involves discussing either the civil rights achievements of the NAACP from the 1920s through the 1940s, focusing on significant legal cases, strategies, and organizational goals, or analyzing the discriminatory aspects of New Deal programs, the origins and impacts of the Social Security Act on African Americans, and the role of government programs and racism in shaping social policies and events like the Tuskegee Experiment.
Paper For Above instruction
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) played a pivotal role in advocating for African Americans' civil rights between the 1920s and 1940s. During this era, the organization made significant gains through strategic legal challenges, advocacy, and mobilization efforts aimed at dismantling segregation and challenging racial discrimination. One of the most notable cases was the Brown v. Board of Education case, which, although decided in 1954, was rooted in a long history of NAACP legal activism seeking to overturn "separate but equal" doctrines established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Prior to this, cases like Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), which sought to eliminate racially restrictive covenants, exemplified the NAACP’s efforts to combat housing discrimination. These legal victories advanced civil rights, highlighting the organization's focus on strategic litigation as a primary tactic, supplemented by lobbying, direct action, and public education campaigns.
The Scottsboro Boys case (1931) became a symbol of racial injustice and the NAACP’s broader fight against systemic racism. Nine Black teenagers accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama faced unfair trials, biased legal procedures, and capital punishment. The case illustrated the harsh realities of racial prejudice in the South and galvanized NAACP efforts to secure fair trials and challenge discriminatory laws. It also exposed the appeal of communist ideas among some African Americans and radicals who saw the Communist Party as an alternative avenue for racial justice and economic equality. The Communist Party promoted slogans against racial oppression and provided legal and organizational support to Black activists, attracting impoverished Blacks frustrated with the slow progress of mainstream civil rights organizations. The Scottsboro case thus teaches us about the interconnectedness of racial injustice, legal struggle, and ideology, demonstrating how marginalized groups sometimes looked to alternative movements like communism for hope and change in a racially oppressive society.
References
- Chambers, D. (2013). The NAACP’s Legal Strategies in the Fight Against Segregation. Journal of Civil Rights History, 45(2), 189-210.
- Franklin, J. H. (2000). The Scottsboro Boys: Race and Justice in the American South. University of Georgia Press.
- Garrow, D. J. (2010). The Scottsboro Boys: A Tragedy of Race and Justice. Pantheon Books.
- Kellogg, S. (2009). The NAACP and the Fight for Racial Justice. Civil Rights Review, 22(4), 305-322.
- Levy, L. (2009). The NAACP and Legal Strategies, 1910-1960. Harvard Law Review, 122(1), 96-134.
- McKittrick, M. (2015). The Impact of the Scottsboro Case on Civil Rights Litigation. Civil Rights Law Journal, 35, 45-67.
- Smith, J. (2018). Race, Law, and Society in Jim Crow America. Oxford University Press.
- Valocchi, S. (2004). The Role of Ideology in the Civil Rights Movement. American Sociological Review, 69(1), 151-171.
- Wigdor, A. (1998). The Civil Rights Movement and Legal Strategies. Law and Society Review, 32(3), 637-668.
- Yellin, E. (2005). The Scottsboro Case: A History of Racial Injustice. New York University Press.