1949 The Story Of The Trenton Six Civil Rights Communist Party Pamphlet

Description: Extremely rare 1949 Communist Party Civil Rights pamphlet (24 pages) issued shortly after the egregious Jim Crow era persecution of The Trenton Six The Trenton Six (like the Scottsboro Boys before them) were a cause célèbre of the Communist Party. This booklet tells their story, demands equality and freedom and justice for The Trenton Six, and closes with the message and plea: “ Join the Committee to Free the Trenton Six. Lend it your energies and your abilities. Support it with your dimes and dollars. The price of liberty is never low, nor can it be too high! Together let us take this pledge: THE TRENTON SIX - THEY SHALL NOT DIE! THEY SHALL BE FREE!” Period collectible ephemera relating to The Trenton Six is almost nonexistent. This booklet is a rare and quality prize relating to one of the most important Civil Rights cases of the 20th century, helping to pave the way for the dawn of the modern civil rights movement. From Wikipedia: The Trenton Six is the group name for six African-American defendants tried for murder of an elderly white shopkeeper in January 1948 in Trenton, New Jersey. The six young men were convicted in August 1948 by an all-white jury of the murder and sentenced to death. Their case was taken up as a major civil rights case, because of injustices after their arrests and questions about the trial. The Civil Rights Congress and the NAACP had legal teams that represented three men each in appeals to the State Supreme Court. It found fault with the court's instruction to the jury, and remanded the case to a lower court for retrial, which took place in 1951. That resulted in a mistrial, requiring a third trial. Four of the defendants were acquitted. Ralph Cooper pleaded guilty, implicating the other five in the crime. Collis English was convicted of murder, but the jury recommended mercy – life in prison rather than execution. The civil rights groups appealed again to the big State Supreme Court, which found fault with the court, and remanded the case to the lower court for retrial of the two defendants who were sentenced to life. One was convicted in 1952 and the other pleaded guilty; both were sentenced to life. Collis English died in late December that year in prison. Ralph Cooper was paroled in 1954 and disappeared from the records.

Price: 195 USD

Location: Watchung, New Jersey

End Time: 2024-10-31T02:40:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5 USD