In this key civil rights and social justice book for young readers,
Scipio Africanus Jones--a self-taught attorney who was born
enslaved--leads a momentous series of court cases to save twelve Black
men who'd been unjustly sentenced to death.
In October 1919, a group of Black sharecroppers met at a church in an
Arkansas village to organize a union. Bullets rained down on the meeting
from outside. Many were killed by a white mob, and others were rounded
up and arrested. Twelve of the sharecroppers were hastily tried and
sentenced to death. Up stepped Scipio Africanus Jones, a self-taught
lawyer who'd been born enslaved. Could he save the men's lives and set
them free? Through their in-depth research and consultation with legal
experts, award-winning nonfiction authors Sandra and Rich Wallace
examine the complex proceedings and an unsung African American early
civil rights hero.