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Book Summary and Reviews of Accused! by Larry Dane Brimner

Accused! by Larry Dane Brimner

Accused!

The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment

by Larry Dane Brimner

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  • Oct 2019, 192 pages
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Book Summary

This chilling and harrowing account tells the story of the Scottsboro Boys, nine African-American teenagers who, when riding the rails during the Great Depression, found their lives destroyed after two white women falsely accused them of rape. Award-winning author Larry Dane Brimner explains how it took more than eighty years for their wrongful convictions to be overturned.

In 1931, nine teenagers were arrested as they traveled on a train through Scottsboro, Alabama. The youngest was thirteen, and all had been hoping to find something better at the end of their journey. But they never arrived. Instead, two white women falsely accused them of rape. The effects were catastrophic for the young men, who came to be known as the Scottsboro Boys. Being accused of raping a white woman in the Jim Crow south almost certainly meant death, either by a lynch mob or the electric chair. The Scottsboro boys found themselves facing one prejudiced trial after another, in one of the worst miscarriages of justice in U.S. history. They also faced a racist legal system, all-white juries, and the death penalty. Noted Sibert Medalist Larry Dane Brimner uncovers how the Scottsboro Boys spent years in Alabama's prison system, enduring inhumane conditions and torture. The extensive back matter includes an author's note, bibliography, index, and further resources and source notes.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Engaging and historically accurate; highly recommended." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Brimner has his work cut out for himself in telling this complicated story... (and) gives the narrative both heft and heart. The book's design uses black-and-white photos to good advantage. A solid look at a noteworthy event that touched upon many aspects of U.S. society." - Booklist (starred review)

This information about Accused! was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Larry Dane Brimner

Larry Dane Brimner is the award-winning author of a number of civil rights and social justice titles for Calkins Creek, including Blacklisted!: Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment; Twelve Days in May, the 2018 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner; STRIKE! The Farm Workers' Fight for Their Rights; Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor, the 2012 Robert F. Sibert Honor Winner; Birmingham Sunday, and We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin.

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