America boasts of its title, “the Land of the Free.” It takes pride in its belief that one is  “innocent until proven guilty.” However, who that freedom and those rights apply to has continuously included and excluded different groups throughout history. The five African American boys of the “Central Park Five”, a group who was falsely accused of sexual assault of a white woman in 1989, are one example of a group excluded from such freedom and rights. Although their case occurred almost twenty years after the end of the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were still subjected to racial prejudice. The documentary film, When They See Us, by Ava DuVernay, follows the lives of the boys after conviction and the impact their incarceration had on their families. More specifically, DuVernay’s depiction of the men’s lives after their release in “Episode Three” emphasizes the flaws in the American justice system and how the racial prejudice rooted deep in America’s past, long before they were falsely convicted, impacted each man’s future.

The “Central Park Five” was composed of individuals belonging to minority racial groups; four out of the five men were African American, and the fifth was Latino. Although Civil Rights advocates had fought for equality only twenty years prior, African Americans still were subordinate to whites in various aspects, such as within the justice system. Because of their race, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, and Kevin Richardson, three African Americans of the group who were focused on in “Episode Three”, were accused and tried without some of the same basic rights that the law deemed each American citizen had. As a result, they were wrongly convicted, a verdict that would impact their lives drastically once released from prison. For instance, following his release, Yusef Salaam wished to pursue a teaching position; however, because he was forced to register as a Level Three sex offender, he could not obtain a license from the state that would permit him to teach, or more generally, a license that would allow him to find employment in any state job. He eventually found work at a telecommunications company working on computer maintenance, but had lied about his skills during the interview process and learned on the job. The struggles that Salaam faced when trying to obtain employment were not uncommon amongst any of the men following incarceration, not only because of the new labels that their false conviction had created for them, but because of a lack of preparation from the criminal justice system.

Although their sentences may have ended, the men were thrown out into a world they had been removed from for seven to eight years without any avenues to guide them through reassimilation into society. Austin Galy, a speaker on the panel which followed the viewing of Episode Three and a man who had faced incarceration as a teenager, explained that the structure of society has made it so there is “not enough space for reacclimation into society” following release from prison. “When you’re released, you become a part of this in between, where you’re not an inmate, but you’re not a citizen either,” Galy shared. The Central Park Five faced similar circumstances. The lack of humanity extended towards the men represented the lingering prejudice towards minorities like African Americans, as well as prejudice towards criminals, both correctly and wrongly convicted.

While Salaam, McCray, and Richardson each did eventually become successful, the fourth group member focused on in the third episode, Raymond Santana, did not. Santana faced the same challenges after incarceration as the others, such as employment struggles, curfew restrictions, and hatred from society. His father’s new wife did not accept him, believing he had committed the crime and was a rapist, and he struggled to find work. However, unlike the others, when he could not find success, he fell back into what was familiar for him. Santana began selling drugs, a lifestyle that brought him quick success with just as quick of a downfall, which came when he was arrested again and reincarcerated. Once again, the cycle that Santana became trapped in points to society’s failure to aid those released from prison in their reassimilation into society.

Although society’s perception of criminals in general plays a role in the prejudices that criminals face after prison, America’s deep rooted history in its prejudice and injustices towards African Americans holds a much larger responsibility in the perception of blacks within the justice system. Beginning with its introduction to North America in 1619, the practice of slavery created a culture where whites viewed themselves as superior to blacks. The colonists, who would later become Americans, “brainwashed themselves into believing that [African Americans] were indeed animals, and deserved to be treated like animals” (Baldwin, “A Talk to Teachers”). James Baldwin, an activist during the 1960s, highlights one of the main ideas that makes up the basis of America’s racism and prejudice towards blacks, and in doing so, exemplifies why prejudicial actions still exist a century after the abolition of the institution. In addition, in his piece written in 1998, a time that was about when the Central Park Five were released from prison, scholar and economist Glenn C. Loury attests to the same arguments that Baldwin had made thirty-five years prior. The racial injustices in America hold roots in the oppressive institutions that African Americans faced for more than three centuries. Loury rejects the notion that society should view groups who struggle with crime, out-of-wedlock births, and other issues that those of lower classes face, as something that they have essentially “done to themselves”; rather, he believes it should be “discussed and reacted to like [any other] American tragedy” (Loury). A greater shift in perception from all of society, not just parts, in regards to such matters, would create a pathway to guide African Americans. In addition, such a shift would also help to dismantle prejudices within the justice system, which would contribute to the elevation and improvement of black society.

Racial prejudice and injustice within society and the justice system have continued to improve over the last twenty years, but that is not to say it does not remain an issue today. Speaker Austin Galy had wisely said it is “much easier to put up walls than to build bridges,” a challenge which America should openly accept and make its mission. In order to build more bridges, one must assess how the minds and hearts of society can be transformed and how a widespread compassion for all can be developed. The definition of justice is “the maintenance or administration of what is just or fair” (Merriam-Webster). Justice has always been a key part in America’s foundation; however, the actions of those within the justice system towards the Central Park Five represent a different definition. While the actions of the past may not have reflected true justice, the actions of the future can, and by “building bridges,” America can work to eliminate racial prejudice and injustice entirely.

References:

“Justice”. Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice.

Loury, Glenn C. “An American Tragedy: The Legacy of Slavery Lingers in Our Cities’ Ghettos.” Brookings, Brookings, 28 July 2016, www.brookings.edu/articles/an-american-tragedy-the-legacy-of-slavery-lingers-in-our-cities-ghettos/.