Article: In Netflix’s Central Park Five miniseries, Trump is called a ‘bigot’ whose ’15 minutes’ are almost up

This article talks about Donald Trump’s involvement in the Central Park Five case. When the case had initially presented itself in 1989, Trump had paid $85,000 to have the crime placed on four different newspapers on a full page. He made it clear that he had wanted the death penalty to come back so that the young boys would face justice, even though they were not the ones who committed the crime and were not even tried in a court of law. Trump’s ads and newspaper article during this time worsened the situation on the Central Park Five case and increased the amount of racism the young boys were already facing. This is relevant to the topic I have chosen because it shows how Donald Trump had played a huge role in the way the Central Park Five were viewed by the public. He had an effect on the way the media viewed the boys, which negatively impacted their families as well.

Source: Butler, Bethonie. “In Netflix’s Central Park Five miniseries, Trump is called a ‘bigot’ whose ’15 minutes’ are almost up.” Washington Post, 31 May 2019. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A587302053/AONE?u=lehman_main&sid=AONE&xid=48798fad. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.

Article: Central Park Five reality: How can you forget the real truth-tellers of the Central Park Five?

This article further talks about the way in which the media portrayed the Central Park Five. The article mentions how Donald Trump was the person who brought out the idea of the death penalty to have “justice” be served. It also mentions how the term, “wilding”, originated from the case. This term was used as a way to describe the actions of all of the young men who were at Central Park during the time the white woman was raped and murdered. Additionally, this article also mentions those who believed and knew the boys were innocent of the crime. The Black press and activists of that time all believed that the young boys were being coerced and attacked by the police due to their race. This article is also relevant to my topic because it mentions those who were against the boys and who believed in them. It also gives more background information about the case.

Source: “Central Park Five reality: How can you forget the real truth-tellers of the Central Park Five?” New Pittsburgh Courier [Pittsburgh, PA], 3 July 2019, p. B3. Gale OneFile: News, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A594664853/STND?u=lehman_main&sid=STND&xid=ebe44e97. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.

Article: Transforming the Central Park jogger into the Central Park Five: Shifting narratives of innocence and changing media discourse in the attack on the Central Park jogger, 1989–2014

This article analyzes the way in which the media, especially The New York Times, decided to portray the Central Park Five case. It explores how the media had portrayed the case from the beginning and how this portrayal changed over time. This article shows how the Central Park Five case received a lot of attention in comparison to other cases and crimes that were taking place during that time. It shows how the media preferred to release news that would be “shocking” to society. This article is relevant to my topic because it further shows the media’s portrayal of the case and how the media functions in general. Despite the severity of the case, the media released many articles on the Central Park Five without focusing on the fact that the boys were coerced and were innocent.

Source: Stratton, Greg. “Transforming the Central Park Jogger into the Central Park Five: Shifting Narratives of Innocence and Changing Media Discourse in the Attack on the Central Park Jogger, 1989–2014.” Crime, Media, Culture, vol. 11, no. 3, Dec. 2015, pp. 281–297, doi:10.1177/1741659015592794.

The text I have chosen to write my analytical research paper on is actually a series called “When They See Us”. This series is about five young black teens, also known as “The Central Park Five”, who are wrongly accused of beating and sexually assaulting a white woman in Central Park. Throughout the series, it can be seen how these five boys get manipulated to give false confessions by the police. They end up admitting to a crime that they did not commit. My thesis for this analytical research paper will be “police brutality has negative effects on the lives of people of color and police tend to abuse their power when it comes to black people”. In my essay, I hope to show the struggles that people of color have faced in America because of the police and the way that they are viewed by society. This series inspired my desire for further research because it shows the unfairness and the injustices that people of color face on a normal basis because of their skin color. In addition, situations like the one in the series still tend to happen to this day. I came up with my thesis because police brutality, manipulation, and abuse of power are common themes that pop up in the series. It is the reason why the boys go to prison and get accused of the crime. I hope to explore the statement in my research by looking for other events, during present times or throughout history, where people of color have gone through the same experiences as the Central Park Five”.

In “The Good Immigrant Student” by Bich Minh Nguyen, she talks about her experiences as an immigrant. Throughout her life, Nguyen felt out of place, especially in school, due to being a refugee from Saigon. In paragraph 26, she says, “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate; I cannot.” Nguyen cannot make a broad statement about immigrant children in schools because every immigrant child went through their own unique experiences. The experiences that the author went through are not the same as the experiences that other children of similar status have gone through. In paragraph 26, Nguyen states, ” My own sister, for instance, was never as shy as I was. Anh disliked school from the start, choosing rebellion rather than silence.” Clearly, this shows how even though they come from a similar background, the author’s experiences differ from her sister’s since Nguyen was quiet and shy in school while her sister didn’t like school and was more rebellious. In paragraph 7, she also states, “If it was my turn to read aloud during reading circle, she’d interrupt me to snap… things she did not do to the other students.” This further shows how the author’s experiences differ from the others. Because Nguyen was seen as different and it was clear that she was new to the country, she was given a hard time due to her foreign status. Rather than receiving help from others, Nguyen would be treated differently making her envy those who were rebellious.

The remarks of President Lincoln and Kennedy have many similarities as well as differences. A similarity between their speeches is that they both talk about liberty for all. In The Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln states, “… our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty…”. Similarly, in the Inaugural Address, President Kennedy says, ” We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom-symbolizing an end as well as a beginning-signifying renewal as well as change”. These remarks show how both President Lincoln and Kennedy see liberty and freedom as something very important for the country and its people. Another similarity is that both made remarks about how the country should remain equal. In his address, President Lincoln states, “… and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”. Similarly, President Kennedy says,”…disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. One difference that these Presidents have in their remarks is the way they should go about keeping liberty in the country. Later in his speech, President Lincoln says,”… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom…”. On the other hand, President Kennedy says in his address, “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty”. This shows how their speeches contrast because President Lincoln is saying that with God the country will have its freedom while President Kennedy is saying that we as a country have to fight for our freedom and make sure we never lose it. The issues both presidents wanted to tackle and conquer were to keep and give freedom to those who didn’t have it and to achieve this goal they wanted everyone to work together. Additionally, both presidents fought for the equality of all. The United States has not solved the problem of equality because recent events have shown how racism and oppression still exist to this day.

What the narrative suggests about the relationship between literature and freedom is that through literature you are able to gain a sense of freedom no matter where you are. Before going to prison Malcolm X did not know how to read or write. He envied people who knew how to read because that was something he could not do himself. In his autobiography, Malcolm X states that “…Bimbi first made [him] envy of his stock of knowledge”. In prison was when Malcolm X was able to learn how to read and write. He spent almost all his free time reading books and would not sleep much because he was so invested in reading. In his autobiography X states ” I would read for another fifty-eight minutes… three or four hours of sleep a night was enough”. Because of reading Malcolm X was able to acquire new knowledge about the world that he had not known before. He was able to become more aware of the issues in America affecting the black race during that time period. Through reading, Malcolm X was also able to discover a new world of literature. In the reading, he says ” No university would ask any student to devour literature as I did when this new world opened to me, of being able to read and understand”. The irony behind Malcolm X’s ability to feel free because of literature while being in prison is that before being in prison Malcolm X had never set it upon himself to learn and this homemade education sort of gave him a new meaning of life.

The English language played a huge role in Amy Tan’s life. English has shaped Tan’s perception of herself because it makes her view herself differently when talking to other people. When Tan was giving a talk to a large audience about her book, she had come to the realization that her mother had never heard her speak formal and proper English. Because of this, Tan had felt that the talk she was giving was wrong since she did not speak that type of English with her mother, “… all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother”. Additionally, English changed the way Tan viewed her relationship with others. When talking about furniture prices, Tan had observed that she used a different type of English with her husband than she does with her mother. This made her realize that the language you use with others changes with the level of intimacy you have with them. In the reading, Tan states ” It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with”.

I think that people who learn English as a second language are aware of the language that is used around them. Personally, I’ve noticed that when speaking English with friends or family I tend to speak it in a different way. For example, with my friends, I speak the “normal English” that we learn in school but with family, I speak English in a way that only they will understand. At times I am aware of the English used around me because certain people tend to talk in a sophisticated manner while sometimes I tend to talk in a more broken form of English. For Instance, at school teachers tend to speak in a professional way to their students while on the other hand when students conversate with each other they tend to speak more informally and in slang.

Hello my name is Miguel Estrella. I go by he/him. Currently, my intended major is Accounting.

After reading the syllabus, I feel very excited to experience what this class has to offer and to improve my skills in writing. I am looking forward to learning how to critically analyze a text and learn how to execute arguments in a strong and understandable way. My only worry about this class is that it takes place online. This makes me nervous because I feel that I would learn more and better if the class were in person.

In order to be a good writer, a person must write things in a way that others can easily understand and that captivates the reader. It is important to be able to write well because something well written is likely to attract a large audience. The easiest part of writing for me is coming up with things to write. I feel that I am very well at explaining things that are on my mind, even when my thoughts are jumbled up. The hardest part of writing for me is knowing how to write an introduction. This is something I have always struggled on and that I can use help with. For my intended major, I am not sure what I would be required to write. Being an effective writer will affect my career opportunities because my intended career will probably require me to be persuasive and know how to explain things in a comprehensible way.