The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-10-14
A Visit to ScottsbOro
Boys in Kilby Prison

boys TO us. we we're hustled out
into the street.
Back in Atlanta, we oresnized
Scottsboro defense meetings. A
Negro owner of a theatre there do
mated the place free of charge for
a Scottsboro concert. At one OF
our meetings a white worker spoke,
who had formerly been member
of the Ku Klllx Khan. He said that
he now understood the situation in
the South.
"The white landlords and mill
owners put the niger in bar
rel, and tell the white worker to
sit on top of the barrel and keen
the niger there. The Niger
squirns and twists, and pretty
soon the white workers foot slips
off the nigger's head, and he falls
down into the barrel where The
niger is. Then the bosses and
mill owners say, Now we have got
two damn fools in the barrel"
He ended his story by saying
that if the Negro and the white
man in the barrel didn't help eacl,
ether get out, they would both
stay there.
From Atlanta went to BirniAg-
ham and took three of the Wright
sisters to see Roy Wright who is
confined in the Birmingham county
Jail. We learned there that the
persistent efforts of the 1. L. D.,
had resulted in winning better
prison conditions for Eugene Will
lian1s, who is to be transferred out
of the death house at Kilby-where
he had been kept although he is
no longer under death sentence
to the Birmingham county jail.
Our visit at Birmingham ran par
allel to our Kilby Prison expert
ences. 1t was raining, and we stood
in a long line exposed TO the rain,
and waited while the police ex-
amined and searched each visitor.
The white member of our group
again was refused admittance, on
the grounds that it was ''Nigger
visiting day" He came out, after
being refused entry, and spoke to
me in line. After he had left a
Negro came up to me and said:
THAT white boy could have passed
if he had gotten in line and not
said anything" He asked whom I
wanted to see. I was suspicious
and said 1 didn't know He later
went into the prison and said some
thing to the captain of the guards.
When I got to the door the guard
grabbed me and took me to the
captain. 1 asked: whats this
for?" and the captain said. you'll
find out in minute what it's all
about" The captain said: "What
niger did you want to see?"
was not sure I heard him, and I
said: "Huh?"
"Who the Hell you saying huh
to?" he shouted.
I said: 81 want to see Roy
Wright
He half rose in his chair. "Git!"
he said venomouSly.
But what's this for?" I asked.
''You get out of town.. the Of
ficer shouted, "and don't you ever
come back here"
I LEFT, and walked about in the
L rain for while. The Negro
stoolpigeon was following me. Later
I joined the Wright sisters at our
appointed meeting place, and
learned that they had been per-
mitted only five minutes with their
brother. The guards had told them
that the crowd was SO large they
had better come back later. When
they came back they were not
admitted. I organized a few meet
ings in Birmingham and then re-
turned to Chattanooga.
There I was Swallowed all after
noon by plain clothes man.
managed to duck him, and finally
went to the office of the I. L. D.
where I had been long expected.
They were greatly excited to see
me, and told me that the chief Of
the Red Squad" had been to see
Mrs. Williams, and had told her
he knew this "Nigger Red" was in
town, and that if he didn't look
out they would find his dead body