Muriel Rukeyser, "Women and Scottsboro"

A 19-year-old Muriel Rukeyser traveled to Scottsboro, Alabama, to bear witness to the second trial of the Scottsboro Boys. She was detained by local police for “contempt of court” after being seen speaking with Black reporters. In this article, “Women and Scottsboro,” she contrasts two Black mothers of the accused boys with the two white women who falsely accused their sons of rape, concluding: “women must help in the fight to free the Scottsboro Boys as well as help to solve the problems that led to their trial.”