Haywood Patterson: Scottsboro Boy

Impact

The short-term impact of this publication was relatively small. The basic details of the Scottsboro case were already known, and all of the Scottsboro boys were out of prison when the book was published; the resulting publicity thus changed little. The aim of the book was to help Patterson, but it did not accomplish that goal either. Soon after its publication, Patterson was arrested and convicted of manslaughter for his role in a man’s death in a barroom fight. He was sentenced to at least six years in prison but died behind bars in 1952.

The real impact of this book is upon the historical record of the experience of the Scottsboro boys. Even if all of the legal details are known, the experience of the defendants cannot be fully understood without reading such a firsthand account. Such an account also contributes to an understanding of the legal processes of the time and the role racial prejudice played in court cases. Likewise, it gives a stark portrayal of prison conditions and the life of black inmates. This biography demonstrates that firsthand accounts are necessary to an understanding of how African Americans were treated in the South during the early twentieth century. White officials and participants in events like this often did not fully and accurately record them, and personal accounts help to paint a truthful picture and to demonstrate the underpinnings of the civil rights movement.