When They See Us

The next few blog posts will be spent with my reflections as an Attorney with over 10 years of experience, analyzing the Netflix series directed by Ava Duvernay entitled "When They See Us."

I want to start first with dissecting the title of the series: When They See Us

I thought about the title and it hit me that it is a double entendre, it has two different meanings: At first glance, and shortly after beginning the series it becomes obvious that the words that are used to describe The Exonerated Five (formerly known as The Central Park Five), "Monsters," "Gangs," "Wolfpack," "Mob," have all been used to describe groups of young African American males. No matter how young, think Emmit Till young, Treyvon Martin young, or Tamir Rice young, these young men are never ascribed cute or innocent adjectives. Instead, they are described as and seen as animals or threats to society, especially when juxtaposed to white females. And so here we are once again, in New York City, the melting pot of America, where Ellis Island welcomes all of the World to give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore." But that only applies to certain people. We only invite certain people to the table; we only see certain people as innocent until proven guilty; we only want to give freedoms and the American dream to those who we deem worthy. Even young people know what the title implies:  My 12 year old said that whenever they see us they think we are dangerous, hood, ghetto. My other twin said they see people from foreign countries and think they are terrorists. When they see us clearly implies what people of color living in America know to be true: we are seen as a threat and treated as less than human. From the Dred Scott decision that made us 3/5 of a human to the inhumane conditions in prisons such as Rickers Island, where Kalief Browder lived out his final years, guilty until proven innocent, we have been told over and over that we are not enough.

The other thing that stood out in the title was the "us" against "them" mentality, something as American as Apple Pie. In fact, we are not black and white, but black and white were chosen to describe us because it is as far apart as you can get on the color spectrum. Peach and brown are too close and come somehow become closer overtime if we mixed. However, black and white as colors and as motifs in the Bible always symbolize good and evil or darkness and light. When they see us...

The alternative meaning that came to me after I finished watching the series was when they finally see us and really see us...things will change. This came to mind after thinking of the colloquial phrase: "I see you," meaning I really see you, I understand what you are going through, I empathize with you and you are not invisible. When they really see us and understand our shared humanity and how much we are entitled to the same processes and protections that they would give their children and loved ones, then we will see progress. I love this meaning because it gives hope where there is despair and it gives us something to strive for in the future.

I'm not suggesting some pie in the sky, if we integrate we will all get along, I'm saying if we can understand that we are more alike than different and that we all have the same basic needs, we will be able to move forward without incidents like those that happened and continue to happen to The Exonerated Five. When They See Us and see themselves, the justice system will cease to be separate and unequal.