To the Exonerated 5, if ever you get to read this. Please know that you are loved and supported forever! You all have survived what would’ve killed most of us. What you went through was not in vain. Your story is going to help people. Continue flourishing and living.
I heard about Central Park 5 and I read about Central Park 5. It’s one of those awful stories you want to tuck away because it hurts too much. A painful reminder of the injustices we’ve faced and continue to face still to this day. I was 7 when it all unfolded. I watched Ava DuVernay’s 4 part series When They See Us on Netflix this past weekend and though there is another documentary out there. I knew that Ava would give us the rawest and truest version. She did not disappoint as she never does. I couldn’t bring myself to watch it right away because I wasn’t mentally prepared. But are we ever really prepared for such tragedies? So I clicked play and have been emotionally ignited ever since. I feel rage, sadness, disgust, and the tears continue. The more I watched, the more my heart broke. It broke into tiny little pieces for all of them. I wanted to jump right through the screen and help them. Can we talk about the epic portrayals though?!! The performances were more than compelling, filled with a rare conviction, and beyond amazing. Korey’s experience broke me all the way down completely. I have 2 sons and I saw them. I saw them and I lost it. I saw my sons getting continuously screamed at, brutalized, victimized, coerced, beaten, and falsely accused. I saw my sons sitting in those interrogation rooms scared, hungry, thirsty, broken, and drained. They were my sons and I saw red. There is something wicked in the amount of diabolical power that lives in a White Lie. I know what I need to do in this teachable moment. It’s what we all need to do in the Black Community. We need to arm our sons with endless shields of knowledge and awareness. We have to arm our sons in such a way that racist weapons formed against them shall never prosper. We need to arm all of our children and we have to continue to fight. Ava knew exactly what she was doing. I was always woke. Now, I’m wide awake.
Linnea
