# Canonical recap data for Scottsboro Boys Trial Begins (1931)
# Source: https://recap.at/1931/scottsboro-boys-trial
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: scottsboro-boys-trial
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1931/scottsboro-boys-trial"
title: Scottsboro Boys Trial Begins
subtitle: Nine African-American teenagers were falsely accused of rape in Alabama, sparking decades of retrials and becoming a landmark civil rights case.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1931-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1931
decade: 1930
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American male teenagers accused of raping a young white woman and a 17-year-old white girl in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white ju
summaryLong: The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American male teenagers accused of raping a young white woman and a 17-year-old white girl in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white juries, rushed trials, and disruptive mobs. It is commonly cited as an example of a legal injustice in the United States legal system.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Young_Black_Men_Accused_in_the_Scottsboro_Rape_Case_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Young_Black_Men_Accused_in_the_Scottsboro_Rape_Case_%28cropped%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Scottsboro Boys"
importance: 77
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys"
  title: Scottsboro boys trial
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- protest
metaDescription: The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American male teenagers accused of raping a young white woman and a 17-year-old white girl in 1931. The landmark set of le
wikidataQid: Q2360071
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260701212627/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-01
  label: Scottsboro boys trial
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys"
