Ken Burn's "The Central Park Five" Intro by Craig Wilder (2020)
MIT history professor Craig Wilder introduces The Central Park Five, his selection for the Virtual International Film Series hosted by MIT Global Languages, 10 July 2020.
Craig Wilder is the Barton L. Weller Professor of History at MIT. A historian of American institutions and ideas, Prof. Wilder advised and appears in The Central Park Five. In his introduction, Wilder offers insights into working with Ken Burns and the historical implications of this case for race and justice in America today. Prof. Wilder's courses at the Institute include: MIT and Slavery: Research (21H.281) / Publication (21H.282) and The Ghetto: From Venice to Harlem (21H.385/11.152).
About the film
The Central Park Five, directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, produced by Ken Burns, et al. (Public Broadcasting Service, 2012): In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of raping a white woman in New York City's Central Park. The Central Park Five tells the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, a media clamoring for sensational stories and an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice.
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Documentary
Awards: Peabody Award, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Black Film Critics Circle Awards, Black Reel Awards, Chicago International Film Festival, and more.