HU J-School Hosts 'Central Park Five' Screening

The Scripps Howard School of Journalism & Communications welcomed WHRO for a special screening of “The Central ParkFive,” a new film from award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, tells the story of the five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989.

 The evening started with a reception in the J. School’s atrium. Wayne Dawkins, Assistant professor of journalism and guest panelist had his new book, “CitySon: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn,” on display.

Before Burns’ “Central Park Five,” Dawkins recalled the horror in his book. Cooper, a community activist and journalist, founded the influential City Sun Newspaper. On the night of April 19, a series of violent assaults inside Central Park were reported to police. In his book, Dawkins addresses the heated social climate in NYC and sets the stage of the young black and brown men being coerced into confessing to a crime they didn’t commit.

The reception was followed by the introduction of the moderator, Barbara Hamm, executive producer and host of "Another View" at WHRO (which airs at noon on Fridays on WHRV FM 89.5). The panelists included: Eric Claville, J.D., Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts who provided a legal perspective; Earl Caldwell SHSJC writer-in-residence and veteran journalist who was working at the Daily News at the time and covered the case and Wayne Dawkins, who was also a NYC journalist at the time covering the news story.

To view images from the event click here.

Watch Central Park Five Trailer on PBS. See more from Central Park Five.