Netflix ended the week by releasing Ava DuVernay’s four-part limited series about the infamous Central Park Five, five black boys aged 14 to 16 who were coerced into confessing to raping a white, female jogger in 1989, then convicted of the crime in 1990.
‘When They See Us’ chronicles the true story of Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise; showing how corruption and racial discrimination has long been a part of the criminal justice system. Social media (Twitter specifically) has been crying, cringing, and throwing things at the tv ever since.
One Twitter user posted, “Ok so I’m about to watch #WhenTheySeeUs should I just take my lashes off now?” Another tweeted, “#WhenTheySeeUs got me trying to fight the TV.”
The miniseries was comprised of four, one-hour + episodes, detailing the park incident, the trial, life after prison and the exoneration of all five men. The first episode shows how the five boys, who barely knew each other, got caught up in the police search for a rapist in Central Park and end up being pushed by the police into admitting to committing the crime.
The trial begins in the second episode, then 4 of the 5 boys who were still considered juveniles and not yet 16 were convicted and sent to jail in the third episode.
The fourth and final episode centered on Korey Wise, the only one convicted as an adult, and the brutal physical and mental anguish he endured during his time in prison. The episode also brought the story together, identifying the actual rapist from the Central Park Five Case and ultimately exonerating all 5 of the now-grown men. In all, the five boys served between 6 and 13 years each.
Donald Trump was heavily (and boldly) involved in the infamous case in 1989 from a media perspective, spending approximately $85,000 of his own money to take out a full-page ad in New York City’s four major newspapers calling for the boys to be executed. “I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer,” the ad read. “Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these murderers and I always will. How can our great society tolerate the continued brutalization of its citizens by crazed misfits? Criminals must be told that their CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS!”
To Trump’s cameo appearance, Twitter has nothing nice to say. One user tweeted, “What people must realize is that the racist #realDonaldTrump, now in the WHITE HOUSE, for f**k sake, piled on a lynch-mob circus. The media neutrally reporting on his ad in 1989 are the same media that enabled him in 2015 and 2016, with $5 billion. SYSTEMIC. #WhenTheySeeUs.” Another user posted, “When people like @realDonaldTrump say that he has done so much for black people you should ask yourself what has he done. #LindaFairstein…”
Many fans thanks Ava for bringing such a historic and relevant story back to life and bringing attention and focus back to fixing the overly flawed criminal justice system. A Twitter user wrote this message to Ava, “#ava Thank you for #WhenTheySeeUs and showing the total lack of regard for humanity those people bestowed upon those young BOYS. It’s uncomfortable, it’s painful, and as a white woman, it’s necessary for me to see. I’m heartsick.”
Have you seen ‘When They See Us’ yet? What are your thoughts?
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