Entry Activity
Each of The Exonerated Five’s family reacted differently to their son’s imprisonment and reentry, and each of The Exonerated Five had to adjust to a world and a family that had changed while they were in juvenile detention and prison.
In groups of five, discuss how the families were impacted by their son’s incarceration. These could include relationships, employment, housing, mental and physical well-being, and financial factors.
Additionally, consider the scale of damage brought by mass incarceration. List ways neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and other communities are also impacted by incarceration.
5 minutes
Parts III and IV
In Parts Three and Four of “WHEN THEY SEE US,” Raymond’s grandmother’s birthday marks a somber occasion as she carries the weight of her grandson’s incarceration. The impact of the teens’ imprisonment on their families is profound, with Antron’s mother providing comfort for his nightmares, Kevin’s family urging him to hold onto hope, and Yusef’s mother encouraging him to stay close to his faith despite their struggles. Years later, Raymond, Antron, Yusef, and Kevin return home as men, facing the challenges of reentry. Meanwhile, Korey remains in prison, enduring brutal attacks and struggling with reality. Despite being denied parole for refusing to confess to crimes he didn’t commit, the truth is revealed when another inmate confesses to the assault, leading to The Exonerated Five’s vindication in 2002 and a $41 million settlement in 2014, the largest in New York City’s history.
Presentation(s)
The Prison Industrial Complex– Angela Davis
1. Philosopher, professor, former political prisoner, and activist Angela Davis discusses the discrepancy between the supposed increase in crime rates, particularly among youth, and the heightened portrayal of crime and violence in the media, especially on television and in movies. Davis suggests that this media representation contributes to an exaggerated fear of crime in society, diverting attention from other pressing issues like unemployment, homelessness, and environmental degradation. (40-1)
How is that fear of crime portrayed in the series, particularly in Parts III and IV?
How are other essential issues neglected due to induced crime panics?
2. The expansion of the criminal justice system has given rise to a prison-industrial complex, accompanied by an ideological push to associate race with criminality, mainly targeting young Black men as the face of crime. This campaign instills fear not only in white people but also within the Black community itself. While acknowledging that some black youth commit violent acts, Davis emphasized that this should not justify the blanket criminalization of young Black and Latino men. The increasing incarceration of people of color is attributed to the prison system’s growth and its shift away from rehabilitation toward punishment and incapacitation. Super-maximum security prisons exemplify this trend, with inmates living in dehumanizing conditions, highlighting a departure from rehabilitation and the focus on punishment in the modern prison system. (38-9)
How does the series depict specific societal perceptions due to the blanket criminalization of Black-Latino men?
How do Korey’s experiences in Part IV show us the dehumanizing conditions within the prison system?
3. Davis writes: “Prisons have become an integral part of the U.S. economy, which, in turn, creates profit-based pressure for the ongoing expansion of the prison business. The process involves expanding prisons, incarcerating more people, and drawing more corporations into the punishment industry, thus creating momentum for further expansion and larger incarcerated populations.” (49)
How does Ava Duvernay’s series illustrate this cycle?
4. Angela Davis elaborates on how media and political discourses work together to create “public enemies.” What other examples Davis presents regarding this topic? (41-3)
Her critique moved us to think about the connections between the criminalization of Black Latino men and migrants from the Americas and Asia. What are Davis’s arguments concerning this connection? (46-47)
5. Davis denounces that our current society promotes forgetfulness about the “centrality of prison in our lives,” what are her points of discussion on this topic? (50-1)