In "Scottsboro," Langston Hughes writes a poem directed to the Scottsboro Boys, 8 young Black men sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit.
Pair “The Race Factor in Trying Juveniles as Adults” with “Scottsboro” to give students a contemporary perspective on racism within the United States legal system. According to “The Race Factor in Trying Juveniles as Adults,” how does racism lead to unjust sentencing outcomes in the United States legal system? How does the research described in “The Race Factor in Trying Juveniles as Adults” parallel the experiences of the Scottsboro Boys Langston Hughes wrote about in “Scottsboro”? How do you think Hughes would choose to respond to the present-day injustices in the United States legal system? As a creative extension, ask students to write their own poems on the theme of present-day racism in the United States legal system. Students may research a case they already know about or use a case such as the Central Park Five to craft their poem.