SCOTTSBORO-On Friday, March 26 a dedication to the newly hung Scottsboro Boys mural was held in downtown Scottsboro. Speakers included Main Street Scottsboro executive director Katie Kirkland, Scottsboro Museum board member William Hampton, Mayor Jim McCamy and Don Howard, the mural artist and first African American artist hired by Disney.
Located on 126 East Peachtree Street beside the law office of Gary Lackey in downtown Scottsboro, the mural depicts the nine Scottsboro boys at the time of their arrests while traveling by train through Jackson County on March 25, 1931. After an altercation, the young men were arrested in the town of Paint Rock and falsely accused of rape by two Caucasian women. They were brought to Scottsboro to stand trail, where all nine were hastily convicted, and all but the youngest sentenced to death by all white juries. It wasn’t until 2013, more than 80 years after their arrests that they were officially pardoned and exonerated for crimes they never committed.
“What happened to the Scottsboro Boys is one of the pivotal stories in the history of racial injustice in the United States”, said artist Don Howard. “This mural encapsulates the power of public art to confront the traumas of the past and generate new dialogues, respectfully and meaningfully, regarding racial inequality and violence, which is so prevalent today.”
The mural is dedicated to the memory of these nine young men and the injustice they endured, with the hope that we can all learn from past wrongs and make this community a fairer and more welcoming place for everyone.
Media Release/City of Scottsboro, Alabama
