Law & Order, Justice and Education

Assignment #8
Jody Mayfield
Dr. Lee Ransaw
March 29, 2017

Essay 1

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 The Scottsboro Boys
The Usual Suspects

…And the story goes as usual. The players in this drama: Black men, white women, a justice system, all

white juries and the casual accusation of rape are the actors in this miscarriage of justice. This is the story of the

Scottsboro Boys. Here is the synopsis of the case. In the 1930s, while the United States was beginning to feel the

grip of the great depression, the south’s attention was transfixed with the "Scottsboro Boys.” Nine black youths

were falsely accused and charged with raping two women in Alabama. These two women were white. This event

eclipsed all other events happening in the South during the 1930s. It lacerated the scab of racism and revealed the

infection of bigotry. This infection illuminated the treatment of blacks. This case began on March 25, 1931. A

number of white and nine black youths were riding on a the Southern Railway line between Chattanooga and

Memphis, Tennessee. They were traveling to see if they could find work. This practice is called “hoboing.”

Hoboing was a common practice among what we now call “the homeless.” People would stowaway on a train

freight car and travel for free to a different city looking for work. An altercation broke out between the group of

black and white youths. The white youths claimed the freight car for themselves. The blacks managed to throw the

white juveniles off the train. These youths (whites) reported the altercation to the official in charge of the railroad

station. He immediately sends a message via telegraph to the officials in the next town. That town was Paint Rock,

Alabama. Dozens of armed men rounded up the nine black youths and took them to jail. The black youths were

arrested on charges of assault. To add fuel to the already raging fire against the nine Black teenage boys, Ruby

Bates and Victoria Price who were white and dressed in boys clothing, chimed in with an accusation of rape.

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The charges escalated from assault to rape. The women actually had sexual intercourse with the men who were

thrown off the train. Their accusation would serve as cover for their sexual indiscretions with the white men.

Although there is no evidence connecting the black youth to the women, an all-white jury convicted them and

they were (with the exception of the youngest one who was 12 years old) sentenced to death. The trial was held in

Scottsboro, Alabama.

Ruby Bates and Victoria Price

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*Here is an excerpt from Victoria Price’s testimony and the Cross Examination of Dr. Bridges. This Doctor examined the girls.

Notice the last statement by Dr. Bridges.

Victoria Price’s testimony Cross-Examination: Dr. Bridges Is Examined

by the Defense.
Q: Haven't you made it a practice to have intercourse with other men? Q: These girls had no bruises on them?
A: No sir, I absolutely haven't. A: The Price girl had a few little blue places on the back and
Q: Never did? lower down in the lumbar region.
A: No sir, only with my husband. [State Objects. Court Sustains.] Q: Large or small?
A: Small.
Q: And with no other white men? Q: She was not lacerated at all?
A: No sir, but with my husband, I want you to understand that, to distinctly understand A: No sir.
that.
Q: Was she bleeding?
Q: Were you struck about the body or head? A: No sir.
A: My back was bruised up; I was choked and everything else. Q: Was the other girl?
Q: Did they have to knock you down? A: No sir.
A: He knocked me to my knees. Q: Neither one was bleeding?
A: No sir.
Q: Get you entirely down? Q: And the discoloration you speak of was very small?
A: Sure, he asked me to lay down, he threw me down. A: Yes sir.
Q: He had to throw you down? Q: The girls were not hysterical?
A: He must have did. A: Not at the office on that examination.
Q: Do you know whether he did?
A: Sure, do you think I am crazy?
Q: Were you beat up about the body?
A: My back was beaten up.
Q: Which one bruised you up?
A: The one that had a knife on me.
Q: Did you say anything to the boys?
A: Yes sir, we was begging them to quit and they wouldn't do it.
Q: You were begging them to quit?
A: Yes sir.
Q: And they beat you unconscious?
A: No sir, they did not beat me unconscious, I did not say they beat me unconscious; I
was unconscious when I got off the train at Paint.

Let’s Examine the Scottsboro Boys:

Nearly blind, 1.Olin Montgomery (age 17), was hoping to get a job in order to pay for a pair of glasses

that he so desperately needed; 2. Clarence Norris (age 19), who had left behind ten brothers and sisters

in rural Georgia; 3. Haywood Patterson (age 18) who claimed that he had ridden freight trains for so

long that he could light a cigarette on the top of a moving train; 4. Ozie Powell (age 16); 5. Willie

Roberson (age 16), who suffered from such severe syphilis that he could barely walk; 6. Charlie Weems

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(age 19); 7. Eugene Williams (age 13); 8. and brothers Andy (age 19) and 9. Roy Wright (age 13), who

were leaving home for the first time. Of these nine boys, only four knew each other prior to their arrest.

During the first trial in April 1931, a lynch mob gathered outside the jail, intent on vigilante

justice. The all-white jury believed the young men to be guilty, the trial ended in a hung jury. However,

Judge Hawkins proclaims a mistrial and eight of the nine youths were

sentenced to death. There was an automatic appeal and that trial, January

1932, upheld the seven of the eight convictions, albeit Ruby Bates

admitted to lying about the rape. In 1932, the US supreme court

overturned the convictions citing inadequate legal defense. The second

trial, January 1933, for Haywood Patterson, is found guilty for second

time. During April and May, 1933, there was a huge public outcry. People

in the North were appalled and whites in the South applauded. My From the Editorial Page of the
Afro-American, November
23,1935

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grandmother told me about this case when I was young. She said, “this case sealed my hatred and

mistrust of ALL white people. They are all devils.” Activists from the American Communist Party

(CP) helped organize a legal defense. After the convictions from all white juries, the CP launched a

national protest campaign marked by street marches and speaking tours. These actions brought to light

the treatment of the Negro in the South. The CP gained an immense respect among civil rights leaders.

This trial, inadvertently linked the civil rights movement with the CP. This is why Martin Luther King

was labeled a communist and was a chief focus of J. Edgar Hoover.. Trials taking place between 1935,

1937 and 1944 saw the convictions of Charile Weems, the retraction of rape charges and exonerations

of Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Roy Wright, and Eugene Williams, as well as, the parole of

Charlie Weems, Clarence Norris, and Andy Wright. Haywood Patterson escapes from prison but is later

caught.

It would more than 82 years for this miscarriage of justice to be rectified for the wrongfully

accused. The Scottsboro Boys are officially granted a pardon by the Governor of Alabama.

From a personal note, the justice was served. It was served cold. That is the nature of the American

justice system. She is not blind. Her so called blind-folds are only there for the majority culture. African

Americans are treated no differently today than they were during this kangaroo trial. There was poor

legal representation then and there is poor legal representation today for minorities. That legal

representation is called the court appointed attorney and the plea bargain.

The painting, The Scottsboro Boys, by Lee A. Ransaw (March 24, 1938) is powerful statement

encapsulating the injustice meted out on these innocent young men. This painting’s color scheme uses

bright pastel colors to contrast the black and dark green colors on the ground. The art has a slight two-

dimension look to it. This causes the main characters to appear as one object. The concentric circles in

the middle of the painting draw your focus to the chains, as well as, convey the hopeless trap that these

boys faced. These circles are like a bullseye. Instead of a black and white bullseye, the bullseye is multi-

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colored, clearly stating that all colors other than white are a target. The center of the bullseye is centered

on the reproductive organs, signaling the retribution about the alleged rape. The chains represent the

wrongful bondage placed on this men. The expressions on the subject’s faces show the consternation and

pain that black people experience even today. Each of the expressions conveys fear, bewilderment, and

defiance. Two of the klansmen on the right half the painting, appear to be on horseback, however, on

closer inspection, they appear to be a combination of man and horse. This can be interpreted as the lack

of humanity. The klansmen are beasts instead of men. Lee Ransaw teaches art and art education at

Morris Brown College and Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Ransaw's artistic background included

courses at Pratt Institute in New York and John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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 Essay 2
The Problem We Live With

Norman Rockwell: The Problem We Live With.

Norman Rockwell: The Problem We Live With. The painting is a snapshot of a turbulent time in

American history caught in paint. Norman Rockwell's painting showed apathetic white America a

portrait of herself. Before we can examine the art, we must visit the actual event that is the subject of the

painting.

Ruby Bridges, the main subject of the painting, was one of six black students integrating the William

Frantz Elementary school in New Orleans. In the spring of 1960, Ruby Bridges passed all 17 tests that

would allow her to attend the all-white school. She scored a perfect 100. Abron Bridges, her father, who

is a Purple Heart recipient, said that he and his wife received a call that his daughter was chosen to take

several tests for a special program. She passed all 17 tests and was assigned to the all white school.

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The assignment was to be kept secret, but Ruby’s father’s white boss found out and urged Abron Bridges

to remove his daughter from the integration program. Bridges said, “He asked me how could I do this to

him as good as he had been to me. I worked from 7 am to 8 pm seven days a week for $65.”

Consequently, Bridges was let go. Ruby and

her mother were escorted to school by four

federal marshals during the first year. It was

reported that it took US marshals and

hundreds of city police to keep a white mob

of thousands from attacking the three-foot,

two-inch, 35 lbs. six year old. That day, she

was the first African-American child to

integrate William Frantz Elementary.

Norman Rockwell’s art was conveyed to a mass market via the medium of print. His illustrations of

everyday life were featured in The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. This fact

places him as a graphic artist, as well as, a fine artist. As a professional graphic designer myself, one

design technique that is quite useful in visually communicating an idea is use angular lines to your

advantage. For example, horizontal lines convey “at rest”. Slanted lines convey forward or backward

motion and vertical lines convey the feeling of stability. When you look at the columns on the Parthenon

in Greece, the columns represent stability. Let’s examine“The Problem We Live With” from a graphic

design point of reference and reveal it’s social importance.

Notice the purple line. it represents “at rest”, the red lines signify “stability” and the yellow

slanted lines indicate moving forward. The burgundy circle encapsulating the tomato stain has a small

but significant role in the paint. Putting all the elements together, Rockwell consciously or unconsciously

communications following message. Be at rest (purple line) with the coming integration. It is coming

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(yellow lines) and it will not change (red lines). No matter how much you protest, (burgundy circle) your

efforts will fall to the ground.

I have had experiences similar, but not as intense as the young Ms. Ruby Bridges had. I have

been in work environments where I have been the only African-American. In fact, my last corporate job

where I worked as a graphic designer in the advertising department, I was the only African-American on

that floor. Everything I did was noticed. People were friendly, but there was constant need to be aware of

what I did, how I acted and making sure my designs were always well above average.

We live in color conscience society. The problem of race is something we will all have to live

with. The founding fathers of this country were racists and racism is in the DNA of this country. The

problem of descendants of former slaves endeavoring to be on equal footing with the descendants of the

slave masters is very hard for America to comprehend. It is the problem that we live with in our everyday

lives. It’s the pink elephant in the room. Everybody sees it, but we won’t acknowledge it. It is very clear in

our educational system. My wife, when doing her thesis on integration patterns in the educational

system, she found a startling revelation. When a white school’s nonwhite population rose above 10%, the

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white parents pulled their children out of the school. We still live with the problem of race, but things are

getting better.

Norman Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was a 20th-century American painter and

illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American

culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday

Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades.[2] Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the

Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four

Freedoms series.

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 The American Flag

The American Flag represents many things to many people. For some it is a symbol of freedom, For oth-

ers it is a symbol of depression and hate. We were taught early in our educational years what the flag

meant. According to www.usflag.org.: White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and

Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.

Listening to this definition in light of all the racial and political unrest can be great material for satire.

Our three variations of the American Flag will present a more alternative view of the meaning of our

so called “Old Glory.”

Addie Dawson-Euba
Marked Men

Addie Dawson-Euba is Professor in the Fine Arts

department at Southern University and A&M College, Baton

Rouge, LA. Her piece “Marked Men” is poignant yet powerful

statement about the new slavery movement called the

American Penal System. With Black men constituting nearly 1

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million of the 2.3 million incarcerated population, this piece screams loudly that something is wrong.

According to Unlocking America, if African American and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same

rates of whites, today’s prison and jail populations would decline by approximately 50%. Justice is served

cold in America and black men are freezing. Analyzing the art using the graphic design tools I

mentioned earlier, the vertical black stripes indicate things are stable. Nothing is going to change. The

red stripes are horizontal, meaning that things are at rest or status quo. African Americans will continue

to be arrested and disproportionate number.

Faith Ringgold
The Flag is Bleeding

Faith is Bleeding is a remarkable piece of art. It imbues the violent

contradiction of America and it race relations. In the “Flag is

Bleeding”, notice the weapons that are seen in the painting. The white

man is holding guns in his pockets, even though its obscured. The

African American is holding a knife. According to Ringgold, stated

“…I wanted to show some of the hell that had broken out in the States, and what better place to do that

than in the stars and stripes?”—Faith Ringgold. This oil on canvas, even though it was painted in 1967,

still reflects the racial fears and sentiments today. The African American obscured behind the stars still

indicates that Black men are still behind something. Whether its behind bars, or the color of white stars,

Black men are trying to fight back. Notice however, he will be overcome by the ‘gun totting, John Wayne

white man. It is his blood that stains the flag. The other aspect that this piece communicates is the

deliberate obfuscation of unity of Black and White togetherness. Faith Ringgold, painter, writer, speaker,

mixed media sculptor and performance artist lives and works in Englewood, New Jersey. Ms Ringgold is

professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego where she taught art from 1987 until 2002.

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Professor Ringgold is the recipient of more than 75 awards including 22 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts

Degrees.

Clarence Talley, Sr.

Nevertheless America

The history of Black America is beautifully interwoven in this piece. Written in the red stripes of

the piece is our history. Using monotone red, shows the blood we have bled just trying to be apart of

America. The white stripes could symbolize the marginalization of the African American by a white

power structure bent on dividing and conquering. Showing the rich cultural history of the African Amer-

ican people while the white stripes on top, show the continued dominance of whiteness in America.

Clarence Talley, Sr. is Professor of Art at Prairie View A & M University and an ordained minister at

Mount Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, Hempstead, Texas, the World Christianship Ministries, and

the United Christian Faith Ministries. Dr. Talley's subjects are diverse and range from traditional to con-

temporary. He records the African American experience and the human condition with passion and un-

restrained vigor. As a paramount source of inspiration, Dr. Talley draws upon the Bible for motivation

both spiritually and visually.

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