Nine Black boys were falsely accused of rape in 1931. This playwright is sharing their story

Sacramento’s premier Black theater is showcasing a playwright that tells a 1931 story of nine Black boys, between ages 12 and 19, who were falsely accused of raping two white girls on a train ride in the South.

Celebration Arts partnered with St. Hope to exhibit Mark Stein’s “Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys,” which premieres Friday night and will run through March 5 at the Guild Theater, 2828 35th St. in Oak Park.

It details the tragic, true story of how white supremacy created injustice through manipulation, deceit and corruption. The performance brings to light the harsh reality of discrimination against African Americans in the Jim Crow era.

“This story is one that’s usually missed,” creative director James Ellison III said. “A lot of times, the Scottsboro boys are confused, sometimes with the Central Park Five.”

In the case of the Scottsboro Boys, all but one were convicted by all-white juries and sentenced to death by a judge.

The teens would be saved from execution after the Supreme Court overturned the convictions twice in the landmark cases Powell v. Alabama, ruling that the boys’ due process was violated because they lacked sufficient counsel, and Norris v. Alabama, which reversed the convictions on the basis that Blacks had been excluded from the jury pool because of their race.

“They were teenagers, little kids, and they were putting these boys in prison,” said Ellison. “There’s a comparison there when you think about (youth) in the Black and brown community being imprisoned a lot.”

Director Anthony D’Juan and a cast of actors will bring the real-life scene of events on stage, presenting the tale through a vaudeville, satirical narrative.

The list of the performers includes: Brooklynn T. Solomon as Ozie, Maurice Ngakane as Clarence, Sarina Krastev as Leroy, Taylor Vaughan as Eugene, Tylre Allen as Haywood, Howie Bryant as Andy, Conrad Crump as Charlie, Naimah Moon as Olen, Maurice Cephus III as Willie and Joey Archie Jr. as Piano Man.

“Theater is alive in Sacramento,” said Ellison. “We’re at the premiere of Black theater in Sacramento. And people can see and realize that Celebration Arts is here. We want to put our footprint in the city, (we) just want them to see that. We also want them to learn a little bit about the Scottsboro boys.”

Tickets are available for purchase online at the Celebration Arts website, and are available at the door.

Following the Feb. 26 performance, the theater will host a discussion panel featuring ex-inmates and an attorney familiar with the case.

“We want to entertain. We want to educate. That’s what Celebration Arts is about, we are an educational facility,” Ellison said.

Celebration Arts is a nonprofit educational and performance organization — founded in 1986 — that seeks to provide performance arts opportunities and training to underserved communities, predominantly Black residents in the capital region.

If you go

What: Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys

Where: Guild Theater, 2828 35th St.

When: Thursday-Sunday through March 5. Showtime at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sundays; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25. A panel discussion will follow the 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Cost: $23, $21 for students and seniors; $15 on Thursdays

Information: sthope.org/guild-theater-home, tickets can be purchased at celebration.booktix.com