The panel discussion will focus on Ken Burns’ 2012 documentary “The Central Park Five” which chronicles the story of five teenagers of color who were wrongfully imprisoned for a rape that occurred in Central Park in 1989. 

“This story demonstrates the role the media plays in influencing public opinion and the criminal justice system, especially when people from historically marginalized identities are involved,” said Dr. Tamara Zellars Buck, professor and chair of the Department of Mass Media. “In order to improve things, we need to understand how the different groups involved – police, media, prosecutors and the public – managed and manipulated information in ways that caused harm.”

Panelists include Dr. Hamner Hill, professor in the Department of Political Science, Philosophy, and Religion; Dr. Joseph Jefferson, director of Jazz Studies and associate professor of trombone/euphonium; Jowairia Khalid, senior multimedia journalism major; and Kennedy Hanner, senior public relations major. The event will be moderated by Jasmine Evans, an instructor with the Department of Mass Media and faculty advisor to the Arrow newspaper.   

“This historic case is a clear example how the system failed to see these teenagers,” said Dr. Pam Parry, mass media professor and the event organizer. “We are holding this up as an egregious example of what not to do, raising questions about journalists' responsibility as a watchdog on government officials.” 

This is the second installment of the Department’s See Me Series, which is designed to bring explorations of and conversations about diverse creative media work to the Southeast campus. The inaugural event last year focused on Maya Angelou’s screenplay “Georgia, Georgia” and professors across campus incorporated the event into their courses. That same invitation has been extended to the campus community this year. 

The documentary is available to stream through Kent Library’s Kanopy collection. No registration is required to attend the panel discussion.