"Scottboro" a novel written in 2008 by Ellen Feldman.
Eight brave souls came out in the ice and cold and they
were Kathy W. (who chose the book), Julie,Betsy, Carol,
Donna, Madeleine, Sarah and yours truly.
We had all read the book and enjoyed the author's style
of writing in recreating a historic , detailed incident of a
false rape accusation of 9 black men in the deep south during
the depression by 2 white girls Ruby Bates and Victoria Price.
Feldman masterfully unfolds the fabric of the times in the 1932
Jim Crow South where prejudice existed not only against
blacks but against Jews, women and poor whites. It is a legal
thriller and a fictional account of a major miscarriage of justice.
She also developed the character of Ruby Bates and her relationship
with the New York reporter Alice.
We discussed the fact that in 1932 this prejudice existed and that later
in the 1960's it still existed. We talked about Martin Luther King and
his role in changing the attitude of the south. We talked about the
corruption of the legal system and the fact that the case went to the
Supreme court 3 times. We also talked about an alleged Broadway play
written by one of the characters. I could not verify that there was really
one at that time but there is certainly a musical that ran in 2010.
Kudos to Kathy for choosing well.
Sarah's choice was "Shadow Tag" by Louise Erdrich.
It is about a dysfunctional family and double diaries.
Sounds intriguing. March 16 is the date to mark on
your calendars.
Her are Ruby and Victoria
Ruby all dolled up in court.
Ellen Feldman also wrote 2 other
novels, "Lucy" and "The Boy Who
Loved Anne Frank".
