I had the pleasure of sitting with Robin Samuels. We meet on Sunday’s in Manhattan to discuss “Stopping Police Criminality”. I announced the event that I was moderating on the seventh of November. Robin stopped me and said, “Cynthia, I have something to share with you.”
We sat and I took out my iPad. She stared to speak….
“I was a part of the Central Park 5. You see, I was working for the NYC Board of Education as a teacher at the time. I went to court everyday because it was in the summer. Now, at the time the Central Park situation jumped off I was a part of the United African Movement with Al Sharpton and we were in full force behind CP5. I remember it very well. Donald Trump took out a full page ads against those boys. Hungry to ruin their lives.”
Robin paused.
She continued, “What they did to those boys was criminal. They starved them out and made them confess to something that was wrong. They took advantage of those boys. They knew those boys did not rape that woman. You could tell it.”
Robin spoke in a tone that created a mind movie causing me stop and look up at her as she spoke. “I remember the Forman was a black man. I also remember Mr. Hooks who worked for Spofford Juvenile Detention and he looked out for those boys. I also remember Raymond Santana who was the only non-black in the group. And I reached out to him. Plus I wrote to him ever so often. I also befriended Linda McCray the mother of Antron McCray and I went to jail with her to visit him. I didn’t know them but I loved them.”
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time Cynthia. And the terminology at that time was “Wilding” like how they are now using the word “Thugs.” I went everyday because I thought that they needed to know someone cares.”
Robin is an example of how “Love shows up on an ordinary day.” A Brown Mother Cynthia 💛 #centralpark5 #thabump #raymondsantana
thaBUMPblog 