When They See Us, The Heartbreaking Story of the Exonerated Five.

When I first heard of Ava Duvernay's latest film/mini-series/documentary, When They See Us, I knew it was something I needed to watch, but I also wasn't sure I wanted to watch it. I wasn't sure I had the emotional capacity to watch it. I am after all the person who refuses to watch slave movies, because hashtag self care. Even more, I am actively staying away from what I like to call sad porn: motion pictures that are specifically engineered to make people sad. I remember stumbling on one episode of Station 19 (not even a show I watch), and somehow, they made a main character and love interest of another main character pass away senselessly, and he was about to die and was saying last words to his lover. That was already a particularly hard weekend for me, I was like nope, nope. Not today, satan. Real life is hard enough as it is.

But When They See Us isn't fiction or a carefully curated piece to get y'all weeping for no reason. When They See Us is real life. So I knew I would watch it. I had to. When I started watching, and just about twenty minutes into the first episode, I was FURIOUS. I needed something to scream into. I was mad. I thought, for the sake of my mental health I better not complete this. Boy, I'm so glad I wasn't that foolish. I'm so glad I did in fact watch all four parts. If those little boys could go through that injustice, if they could LIVE it, then the least they deserve is that we ALL watch it and learn. Because as a society, this country and the justice system failed those boys. They were robbed of their innocence and childhood. And we need to do better.

"In the movies, courage can be loud. In life, courage is something different. It's quiet. Courage means strength of heart. Courage makes it possible for a man to suffer adversity; to persevere; to prevail." - Michael B. Jordan

When They See Us is a mini-series by Ava Duvernay  based on the 1989 Central Park jogger case, in which a 28 year old female investment banker was brutally assaulted, raped, and left for dead in New York's Central Park. Five young boys (now men) Antron, Kevin, Yusef, Raymond, and Korey were accused, arrested, and and wrongly convicted of the crimes. The convictions were eventually vacated in 2002. So this mini-series shows us how these boys were brutalized by the media and our sick, twisted criminal justice system. We also get to explore how our criminal justice system works, especially how it was used against brown and black boys. We see how they were coerced to give false confessions after being held for 48 hours without food. We also see how they were interviewed without legal guardians, and how they subsequently were treated like animals by police.

The part that stung the most was that the minute the prosecutor decided those boys were responsible for the crimes, there was nothing else that could have changed her mind. Not the fact that DNA evidence revealed these boys weren't at the crime scene; not the fact that these boys did NOT know each other before the incidence (so how could they be a pack?); not the fact that these boys said over and over that they were innocent. Nothing. These boys were victims of a system that brutalizes the poor, the marginalized, and people of color. The media also painted these boys as victims even when there was no single evidence tying them to the crime. Ninety percent of the media coverage at the time of the crime never used "alleged" in describing these boys. Everyone just concluded they did it; they believed what the state said and took it as fact, even barely two weeks after the incident.  Our current president took out full page ads calling for these poor babies to be sentenced to death. No one person can explain or fully understand the trauma and terror these boys experienced, and at such young ages.

I really implore you to watch this mini-series no matter how hard it seems at first. In the words of Korey Wise, one of the EXONERATED Five (because yes "The Central park five" is a political moniker for the purpose of further victimizing these boys), "this is not a tragedy, this is a celebration of life". Korey Wise. Korey Korey. Oh please, just watch this film to understand how this boy specifically suffered soooo badly. His was the worst of it. And his words are what surprise me. I have been poring over the lives of Yusef, Kevin, Raymond, Antron, and Korey since watching the show. I gotta tell you, I don't know how people who went through hell, who were so viciously hated, and who suffered that much trauma (beginning at ages 14 to 16) can still be so positive. Yet, somehow they are. They are committed to changing the system and making sure that the innocent does not suffer the way they did.

As I was watching the show, I kept thinking why. Why, God? Why did innocent boys have to go through this hell? And what kind of world are we that allows that sort of injustice and wickedness? What kind of people are we? What type of injustice is this? I also can't imagine how those detectives, prosecutors, district attorneys and everyone else involved in this cover up...how do they sleep at night? How are they okay with themselves?

This already happened and I think moving forward as a society, we need to really ponder on our values, our moral fabric, and who we are. It means no matter where you are or what slice of this world you find yourself, day in, day out, you better remain committed to doing good. To treating people fairly and fighting for justice and fairness and equity. You better examine your prejudices very very carefully.

In thinking about this case, we tend to [rightfully] focus on the men, but what many people don't see are the families. The families of these boys that probably lost their jobs, suffered the stigma and shame, went bankrupt hiring lawyers, and so much more struggles. SO MUCH STRUGGLES.  The despair, the loss, the heartbreak, the confusion because a couple of people got together and decided that these boys (largely based on the color of their skin) were guilty of a crime they were probably too young to even comprehend. Just watch this show. If for nothing, just so you can feel that fiery, burning anger. Just so you can be unsettled. Because chileeee, we must never get complacent or comfortable. That anger should cause us to do better.

I am really thankful for Ava and to Ava for telling this story. I am also thankful for these men somehow finding the courage to turn their pain into something so strong and so powerful; for the willingness to share their stories.

Love, and some justice,


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