is to die first. And even then wait for a couple of decades.
After 80 years, the last of the Scottsboro Boys have been generously pardoned by Alabama. One of the most infamous cases of legal injustice will supposedly come to an end. No explanation on why an obvious miscarriage of justice only got a pardon today. Did it slip the minds of previous Alabama Governors who as lawyers undoubtedly studied the case in school? Reading about the case is frankly surreal for me. I wonder, "What were they thinking?", all those years ago. Underage kids tried as adults, brain damaged men put on trial....
Then I realize today isn't that much different...
More in the fold...
Then, as now, presumption of guilt till proven innocent was a hurdle many African Americans faced. Only difference is that back then people were more honest about it. Nowadays, legalistic mumbo jumbo called Stand Your Ground and Stop and Frisk are the reality. So what if they removed all white juries? Walking while Black or Knocking on Doors while Black is still a fact of life today. A big black teenager wearing clothing all teenagers wear MUST be gangbanger! Seriously?
What will it take to change a state of mind? There is no question there have been improvements since 1931. Are we to wait another 80 years before the behaviors of today become as strange as the actions of all those years ago?
What will it take?