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Attorney Linda Fairstein of Central Park Five resigned from Vassar College's Board of Directors after Ava DuVernay's "When They See Us" prompted a review of Fairstein's role in the 1989 case.
"I am told that Ms. Fairstein felt that, given the recent general debate about her role in the Central Park case, she was convinced that the fact that she would remain a member of the board of directors would be detrimental to Vassar, "wrote Elizabeth Bradley, president of Vassar College, regarding the resignation.
The dramatization of Netflix tells of the unjustified arrest and conviction of five teenagers following the rape of a Central Park jogger, as well as the resulting life-time consequences. Represented by Felicity Huffman, Fairstein on screen repeatedly qualifies teenagers as "animals".
The hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein has gained ground on Twitter and more than 87,000 people have signed an online petition on Change.org calling on retailers to stop selling Fairstein books. A separate petition, launched several days ago, called for the resignation of Fairstein from Vassar's board of directors.
"The events of recent days have highlighted how the history of racial and ethnic tensions in this country continues to influence us deeply today, and in a way that changes over time," Bradley said. "After receiving many e-mails and phone calls from people who have expressed a wide range of views on this issue, I remember William Faulkner's quote:" The past is never dead. It's not even past.
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