The documentary on the Central Park Five – When The See Us” – is stirring up a lot of old wounds. The latest news in relation to the highly publicized case is that one of the prosecutors ha resigned her position as a professor at Columbia University.
Elizabeth Lederer quit her job this week at Columbia Law School. Ava DuVernay’s current documentary series on Netflix revolves around the case which involved five young Black men accused of raping a White woman in Central Park, New York City. Since the controversial case, they have been cleared through DNA testing. According to Variety, however, Lederer’s resignation comes on the heels of a student protest from the Black Student Law Association at Columbia, which released a statement calling for the former prosecutor’s dismissal for her “harmful, racist tactics.”
ederer, a Manhattan district attorney, was a central prosecutor in the 1989 Central Park Five case. The group also called on the school to re-evaluate its curriculum to “prevent perpetuating racist policies.” Lederer isn’t the only one feeling pressure from the case. Linda Fairstein, the other lead prosecutor, has been dropped by her book publisher and has resigned from her position on the board of Vassar College. Since “When They See Us” had its debut on May 31, it’s become the most watched show in the U.S.
