The Scottsboro Boys Revisited

06/14/2026

Juneteenth news during 1931, the year the Scottsboro Boys were arrested.

06/13/2026

05/13/2026

This Saturday, we will break ground on our Outdoor Expansion Project; a transformative step toward creating spaces centered in education, reflection, and community connection. Rooted in the humanity of the Scottsboro Boys story, this expansion will include the Ada Wright Memorial Garden, a Multi-sen...

05/06/2026

05/01/2026

What a surprise to see a meeting with these fine ladies yesterday pop up on the calendar and receive their “Visionary Award” for working to support their efforts (along with a few others) with almost $3m in state funding these past few years to create the Scottsboro Boys Museum/Judge James Horton Legal Learning Center in Decatur. But they and their fellow CEOTA Board members are the real visionaries in bringing this project forward and overcoming obstacle after obstacle. Though there is still a way to go, the progress has been remarkable and I am honored to play a part in helping it become a needed reality.

04/26/2026

I had the privilege of sharing the Scottsboro Boys story with 150 elementary, middle school, and high school students from Birmingham on yesterday at the Huntsville Depot. The young men standing represent the ages of the accused Scottsboro nine. Thanks to my dear friend Peggy Towns for helping me with this portion of the tour.

11/29/2025

A father’s pride.

Scottsboro Boy Clarence Norris (left) celebrated his pardon with Dr. Levi Watkins (right) in the President's office at Alabama State University on November 29, 1976. My father told me the story of the Scottsboro Boys when I was a young boy. I never forgot it. This was the case that motivated me to become a lawyer. My father was extremely proud that I was the attorney who cleared the names of Mr. Norris and the other eight Scottsboro Boys 45 years after their arrest.

By: Donald V. WatkinsCopyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on November 9, 2014; Republished on March 12, 2024My father was ecstatic when I called and informed him that I had finally secured a full and unconditional pardon from the state of Alabama for Mr. Clarence Norris, the last known surviving...

11/29/2025

Memory shared with me by Mrs. Peggy Parks Miller, the grand niece of Scottsboro Boy, Mr. Clarence Norris.

November 29, 1976, Norris returned to Montgomery to receive his pardon and a hero's welcome. Attorney Donald Watkins writes, “When Norris exited the airplane, we just stared at each other until he reached me in the sea of reporters and supporters from around the world. Then, we hugged and cried. Both of us realized the magnitude of the moment-on this historic day, the state of Alabama had finally and officially declared that the Scottsboro Boys were innocent of the 1931 r**e charges".

An excerpt from an article written by attorney Donald V. Watkins. As we commemorate this day 49 years later, let us remember the words of Clarence Norris: "The lesson to Black People, to my children, to everybody is that you should always fight for your rights, even if it cost you your life. Stand up for your rights, even if it kills you. That's all that life consists of."

His words still are still applicable for today.

Video in this post filmed on June 14, 2025 in Decatur, Alabama. Attorney General Bill Baxley is showing a photo celebrating Governor Wallace’s pardon of Clarence Norris that was taken on November 29, 1976.

11/29/2025

Memory shared with me by Mrs. Peggy Parks Miller, the grand niece of Scottsboro Boy, Mr. Clarence Norris.

November 29, 1976, Norris returned to Montgomery to receive his pardon and a hero's welcome. Attorney Donald Watkins writes, “When Norris exited the airplane, we just stared at each other until he reached me in the sea of reporters and supporters from around the world. Then, we hugged and cried. Both of us realized the magnitude of the moment-on this historic day, the state of Alabama had finally and officially declared that the Scottsboro Boys were innocent of the 1931 r**e charges".

An excerpt from an article written by attorney Donald V. Watkins. As we commemorate this day 49 years later, let us remember the words of Clarence Norris: "The lesson to Black People, to my children, to everybody is that you should always fight for your rights, even if it cost you your life. Stand up for your rights, even if it kills you. That's all that life consists of."

His words still are still applicable for today.

I took photos in this post on June 14, 2025 in Decatur, Alabama. Attorney General Bill Baxley is showing a photo celebrating Governor Wallace’s pardon of Clarence Norris that was taken on November 29, 1976.