Please watch “When They see Us” currently playing on Netflix.
I had the honor of bearing witness to the story of the five men, Kevin Richardson, Antron Mccray, Raymond Santana Jr., Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam, who unfortunately are known as the “Central Park 5”.
I have hesitated to write this diary because I want to make sure I give the proper attention and respect. I know that most of you know the basic details of the story. White woman raped in Central Park (I’m deliberately not using her name because she deserves peace and privacy). Rape pinned on five black males who served 6-15 years in prison. Case later overturned due to the correct rapist confessing to the crime 15 years later. The five were exonerated and received a cash settlement from NYC.
I get that you KNOW the story, but do you really.
Number 1: Support a black woman’s film. Ava Duvernay has directed a masterpiece. The movie was made after one of the gentleman twitted at her when she asked what movie should she make next. And boy should did she ever.
Number 2: You don’t know the facts. You know what the media told you. You know what you read in a newspaper. But you don’t know the actual facts.
Number 3: Our current president almost killed 5 black teen boys. YES, again our President has yet to apologize for trying to lynch 5 black teenage boys.
The beauty of this movie is it’s told in 4 parts and each part is sooo critical to the story. It’s isn’t just a story about the crime and redemption. It’s a heartbreak story about a system that failed teenage boys at arraignment, at conviction, in prison, on release and also on redemption.
It also isn’t a story of the past. It’s a story what happens EVERY DAY to black boys/men in our system. This story is a call to action and the first part is to bear witness to the past so we can correct our future.
This isn’t an easy watch. I pretty much ugly cried my way through it. I had to take breathers to process my own anger. But I encourage you to watch this.
*As a side note, I want to pay homage to Lourdes Gonzalez. A pregnant mother of three who lost her life because the NYC police decided to railroad these five men.