Thurgood Marshall and the Groveland Boys

"Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America" Gilbert King, 2012

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Caroline McKenzie, Wood 6th

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"It was the virtually angelic faces of white children, all of them dressed in their Sunday clothes, as they posed, grinning and smiling, in a semicircle around Rubin Stacy’s dangling Corpse."

"Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America." Gilbert King (via omgthurgoodmarshall)

This is Thurgood's nightmare. He can picture himself as the corpse, dangling behind of the eerie faces of smiling children. The heroic thing is that Thurgood Marshall doesn't let his fears stop him from continuing to fight for justice and equality. 

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In what ways was Norma Padgett’s testimony false?

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The most apparent issue was her timeline. This was evident by even those who didn't follow the case closely. 

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How can a society function when those who impose the rules are corrupt?

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The society cannot function. The society becomes corrupt and those who fight against it become the new enemies. In Groveland Florida, the boys accused of rape were beaten until they lied and confessed to something they didn't do. The black lawyers who tried to defend the boys were chased at high speeds after leaving the court. Those who were innocent were in grave danger of losing their lives to a corrupt society. 

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"It almost made up for the constant humiliation he’d had to endure so often in the courtrooms of the South. Except that when the lawyer for the state of Florida walked out of the Supreme Court building at the end of arguments, he would shake hands with his opponents and return safely to his home in the south of the South. (King, 218)"

(via omgthurgoodmarshall) This passage is referring to the fact that black, educated, northern lawyers who came to the south were often in danger of losing their lives. The threats were very real and very intense. There is a clear sense of envy and almost loathing in this selection. 

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"Court Bans Segregation In Public School Cases" 

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the NAACP legal team, including Thurgood Marshall, was busy working on cases that would impose de-segregation on public schools and universities. Many of these cases led up to the landmark "Brown V. Board of Education" which set the precedent of non-segregated schools. 

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"It almost made up for the constant humiliation he'd had to endure so often in the courtrooms of the South. Except that when the lawyer for the state of Florida walked out of the Supreme Court building at the end of arguments, he would shake hands with his opponents and return safely to his home in the south of the South. (King, 218)"

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"…’There’s no difference between a white snake and a black snake. They’ll both bite.’ Some lessons you don’t forget. (King, 209)"

(via omgthurgoodmarshall) Interpretation: Race is arbitrary to the behavior of a person. We are all living with emotions and feelings, regardless of race. There is no difference between one who is black and one who is white. Skin color does not matter. Height does not matter. Gender does not matter. We are all the same on the inside. 

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How can a society function when those who impose the rules are corrupt?

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Sheriff Willis McCall, Reuben Hatcher (jailer), Walter Irvin, Charles Greenlee, and Samuel Shepard. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, visual Materials from the NAACP Records.)  

Three of the four Groveland boys are pictured here. They appear to be young and innocent, but McCall appears innocent too. Looks can be deceiving. 

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In what ways was Norma Padgett's testimony false?

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"...'There's no difference between a white snake and a black snake. They'll both bite.' Some lessons you don't forget. (King, 209)"

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The scales of justice were usually balanced in favor of the white male throughout the American South. It was hard for a black person to be found innocent of harming a white person, but even harder for a white person to be found guilty of harming a black person. The police forces were corrupt with white supremacists who were openly members of the Ku Klux Klan and the juries were almost always composed of entirely white males. 

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Why was race ever a legitimate factor for judgement?

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"It was the virtually angelic faces of white children, all of them dressed in their Sunday clothes, as they posed, grinning and smiling, in a semicircle around Rubin Stacy's dangling Corpse."

"Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America." Gilbert King

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"Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America"

Book by Gilbert King

Published in 2012