SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — The Scottsboro Boys Museum reopened to the public Wednesday. It was forced to close because of the pandemic, a remodel, and the untimely death of the museum's Executive Director, Shelia Washington.
This museum is meant to share the lives and legacy of nine boys who became symbols of race-based injustice.
Peggy Parks Miller and Leonard Heins are the grand-niece and grand-nephew of Clarence Norris.
"Clarence Norris is the reason we're here. We're family," Miller said.
Norris is one of the nine 'Scottsboro Boys.' A case that garnered international attention in the 1930's.
Thomas Reidy is the interim Executive Director of the Scottsboro Boys Museum and shared, "The Scottsboro Boys is a very unique case in that it involved issues of race, of gender, of capitalism versus communism, political ideologies, the North versus the South."
The boys were all falsely accused of raping two white women aboard a train near Scottsboro, Alabama, and they became symbols of race-based injustice in the South.
Years later, a museum was founded by the late Shelia Washington to share their history and remind people that this happened.
"They spent 102 years in prison for a crime that never happened. And so we help to explain or ask people to consider how such a travesty could happen….Some of the same things that they dealt with back in 1931, communities of color are still finding themselves dealing with," Reidy said.
The museum closed for multiple reasons in 2020 and has now reopened in 2022, with a new look.
And just as the public continues to learn this history, so do the ones closest to the Scottsboro Boys.
"Part of that narrative that we didn't know about needs to come forward. People need to understand what happened and why it continues to happen," Miller said.
Miller is hopeful this museum will bring healing and promote civil rights.
"You very seldom get an opportunity to see a wrong corrected, it was just something I knew I had to become a part of….I would be failing as a woman of color to miss an opportunity to like this."
The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday. 10:00 am through 2:00 pm. Tours are available by appointment. To schedule, call 256-912-0471.
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