Linda Fairstein, the racist former head of the Manhattan D.A.’s Sex Crimes Unit who led the charge in the false prosecution of five Black and Latino boys dubbed the Central Park Five in 1989, is feeling the heat after the premiere of Ava DuVernay‘s masterpiece, When They See Us.
DNA evidence ultimate pointed to Matias Reyes who admitted to the heinous crime, which prompted an investigation and ultimately the exoneration of the five men.
Taking to social media after viewing the docuseries, people slammed Fairstein for wrongfully arresting and imprisoning the five teens, whose charges were later thrown out, but not before they served years behind bars.
In addition to the botched Central Park rape investigation, Fairstein is best known as an author of the Alexandra Cooper books, where she covers her experiences as a New York prosecutor. That experience has some lambasting her for sending five innocent Black boys to prison for a crime they never committed.
Despite the 2014 exoneration of the five accused, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, and a $41 million settlement with the city of New York for their wrongful incarceration, Fairstein has yet to apologize. In fact, she maintains that she and the officers who procured the false confessions did nothing wrong.
Well, America disagrees.
Here are four ways that many people are rallying to the men’s defense using the #CancelLindaFairstein hashtag and calling for Fairstein to be held accountable for her actions.
Boycotting her Books
Banning her from Non-profit Board
According to TMZ, sources at the nonprofit Safe Horizon, a NYC-based organization that aids victims of abuse and violent crime in NYC are enraged that the former prosecutor remains on the board given her problematic past.
TMZ reports that the CEO held a meeting on May 21 where nearly 100 directors were informed about the Netflix drama and Fairstein’s connection to the controversial story.
—The Central Park Five Case: Where the racist cops and prosecutors are now—
Kicking her off of the Vassar College Board
Vassar College is reportedly reviewing Fairstein’s status as a Board of Trustee member after student outcry. College president Elizabeth Bradley sent a letter to students, alumni and community.
According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Mari Robles, an international studies junior at Vassar, published a petition Sunday morning calling for Fairstein’s removal. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, more than 3,500 people had signed the petition on change.org.
Cancelling Awards
Calling for her Prosecution
—‘When They See Us’ sparking calls for Linda Fairstein book boycott—