Central Park Five prosecutor resigns from Vassar board amid ‘When They See Us’ criticism
“Central Park Five” prosecutor Linda Fairstein has resigned from the board of Vassar College after Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” spurred renewed focus on Fairstein’s role in the 1989 case.
“I am told that Ms. Fairstein felt that, given the recent widespread debate over her role in the Central Park case, she believed that her continuing as a Board member would be harmful to Vassar,” wrote Vassar College president Elizabeth Bradley in a statement regarding the resignation.
The Netflix dramatization tells the story of the wrongful arrest and conviction of five teenagers in the wake of a rape of a Central Park jogger, as well as the lifelong consequences that follow. Depicted by Felicity Huffman, the on-screen Fairstein repeatedly refers to the teens as “animals.”
The hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein gained traction on Twitter, and over 87,000 people have signed an online Change.org petition calling for retailers to stop selling Fairstein’s books. A separate petition, started several days ago, called for Fairstein’s resignation from the Vassar board.
Linda FairStein needs to be in jail for Prosecutorial misconduct. The millions of proceeds made from her book pertaining to this case should go to the Central Park 5 victims.#WhenTheySeeUspic.twitter.com/g7w8vBIhxa
— Joe_da_great1 (@josephp29008556) June 3, 2019
after recently finishing the netflix original series “When They See Us” i am very confused as to why we are simply trying to boycott #LindaFairstein and her books. i want her INVESTIGATED PERIOD. i want to know how many other cases she’s had like this.
— rakeb berhane (@urfaveactivist) June 3, 2019
Just finished When they see us on Netflix, broke my heart, most most of all i never hated someone as much as I hate Linda Fairstein, she made innocent children go to jail, and suffer things no child should , so fuck you linda , say hi to the devil for me #CancelLindaFairstein
— Ana (@anamunguiaoffc) June 4, 2019
I just keep thinking about how many more Linda Fairstein’s there are our there.
— Clint Smith (@ClintSmithIII) June 3, 2019
“The events of the last few days have underscored how the history of racial and ethnic tensions in this country continue to deeply influence us today, and in ways that change over time,” Bradley said. “As I have received many emails and phone calls from people who have expressed a broad range of views on this issue, I am reminded of William Faulkner’s quote: ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.'”
