“Agitate, agitate, agitate,” were Ken Burns’ parting words as he left the crowded Colonial Theatre. These words were a call to action during a question and answer session after the premiere of his new movie. For me, the injustice highlighted in the movie did agitate me.
Every once in awhile you will find an issue that moves you out of pure frustration. Watching Ken Burns’ new film, “Central Park Five,” is one of those movies. If you had any little faith in the American justice system, it will be completely destroyed after this movie.
For those of you who didn’t read last week’s article in The Equinox, “Central Park Five” is about five black and latino teenagers–Yussef Salem, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, Antron McCray–from Harlem who were wrongly accused of raping and brutally beating a white woman in Central Park in 1989. Though there was no evidence to convict these children, they were picked up because of their race.
This film is troubling on many levels because it shows a number of things that need to be addressed. One of these things is that people and children, especially those who are poor, need to be educated on their rights. The film showed how the police officers forced the teenagers to lie on paper and admit that they raped the woman even though they barely even knew each other.
The whole time watching the scenes with the kids or their parents trying to get their kids one lesson was, “If only they knew their rights. If only they knew what they could or could not get away with. If only they knew that the police can legally lie to you.” The children were picked up at various times for no other reason than being around the park.
They had no idea about habeas corpus, which is after a while the cops have a legal right to tell you what they are arresting you for. The kids and the parents were interrogated without a lawyer because they had no one to tell them to not speak to police if there is no lawyer. No one ever taught them their rights. They couldn’t afford a good lawyer. They were lower-middle class, mild mannered kids from good homes. The kids and their parents were manipulated by the NYPD because they didn’t know their rights.
Another troubling detail was the media coverage of the crime. When the news broke that a white woman was raped and beaten into a coma at Central Park, a place the former mayor Ed Koch said was considered “sacred,” the city became outraged. After NYPD arrested these five teenagers and went public to the press.
The New York City press, such as The Daily News and The New York Post, crucified these kids. The media framed their rhetoric to make out the kids as monsters, even sub-human. The phrase “Wildin” was used to describe the act of a bunch of poor kids attacking people. The media applied this term when it came to the Central Park case.
The troubling aspect wasn’t only the racial connotations in their rhetoric, but the fact the media made it so believable that these five children were the perpetrators. If I lived in New York at the time, I probably would’ve assumed they did it too by looking at the headlines.
The last thing that was troubling is that the New York City criminal justice system and the NYPD never apologized for their misjustice. After the five men were exonerated once the real rapist came forward in prison, the NYPD and the prosecutors of the case had nothing to say. The NYPD didn’t apologize for lying to the boys and forcing them to confess to something they didn’t do. The prosecutors never owned up to convicting innocent teenagers without a shred of DNA evidence. Their lives were ruined for nothing, and they couldn’t even get a moment of remorse from the institutions that tried to destroy them.
After watching the movie, I was enraged. Seeing an injustice like that unfold is upsetting. I always wonder after seeing such a deep movie or becoming exposed to an ill in society what I can do to help. Currently, the five men are suing the city of New York and the NYPD for damages done. The first suit was brought about by three of the five, McCray, Richardson and Sanatana, in 2003. The city still hasn’t resolved it.
Anyone who knows of this case or learned of this case can help here. If you go to NYC.gov, you can write a message to Mayor Michael Bloomberg stating how you feel about the case and that the five should be given their reparations for the irreconcilable damages done.
You can even write a letter to Mr. Bloomberg’s address at Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Hall, New York, New York if you’re not about the whole “technology” thing. While you’re at it, tell him to end the NYPD policy called “Stop and frisk,” which is the largest racial profiling tactic used today as well as an assault on civil liberties, the same liberties denied to these five.
This is crucial to act on because we need to start holding the broken institutions in this country more accountable. You could be the same victim of these draconian, discriminatory policies practiced by police departments such as New York because at the end of the day, this is war to eliminate those without a voice.
Anyone could have been the Central Park Five, or the West Memphis Three, or a victim of the war on drugs. By writing a simple note, you can help put a period on these injustices.
Brian Rabadeau can be contacted at brabadeau@keene-equinox.com