Historical Event Links

The following links are used to expose you to the historical events of the Scottsboro Trials, the events that inspired author Harper Lee to write her autobiographical novel.

Web Resources

Title: Seattle Times : Martin Luther King Jr. – Civil Rights TimelineURL: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/king/timeline.htmlAnnotation: This civil rights timeline may serve as a good introduction or reminder of the historical events that shaped the civil rights movement.Title: Famous American TrialsURL: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htmAnnotation: This University of Missouri – Kansas City Law School webpage provides details regarding the historical Scottsboro Trials.Title: Scottsboro : An American TragedyURL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/index.htmlAnnotation: This PBS movie documents the Scottsboro tragedy upon which Harper Lee based her novel.

Harper Lee’s novel was published in 1960.  The following presentation details some events that led up to the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s-1960.  It sheds light on the social and political climate of the time that the novel was published.