WE WILL WRITE THIS ESSAY IN CLASS ON 10/26. DO NOT START WRITING THE ESSAY AT HOME. You may, however, start brainstorming and outlining for it and you should ABSOLUTELY BEGIN DOING RESEARCH for it at home. On Tuesday 10/24, a librarian will introduce you to the library databases.
In the documentary film The Central Park Five we are told the story of the arrest, trial and conviction of five black and Hispanic teenagers in New York City in the late 80s for crimes they did not commit. Do more independent research on the Central Park jogger case and write an argumentative essay in response to one of these three prompts :
1. How is the Central Park jogger case exemplary of systemic oppression of people of color? How does it fit the patterns of social control described by Michelle Alexander in The New Jim Crow? Make sure that your discussion is not just limited to the NYPD, but to the role of prosecutors and defense lawyers as well.
2. Examine media coverage of the Central Park jogger case. What role did sensationalist media coverage play in the fate of the Central Park Five? Make sure that your discussion is not just limited to their arrest, trial and conviction, but to coverage of their exoneration as well.
3.At the end of the film, historian Craig Steven Wilder says, "I want us to remember what happened that day and be horrified by ourselves because it really is a mirror on our society. And rather than tying it up in a bow and thinking that there was something that we can take away from it, and we’ll be better people, I think what we really need to realize is that we’re not very good people. And we’re often not." How is the story of the Central Park Five a mirror on our society? What does it say about us, the public at large? To what extent are we responsible for what happened to The Five?
YOUR ESSAY MUST
Be at least 700 words in length.
Include an intro with a clear thesis statement, at least 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. More than 3 body paragraphs is perfectly OK.
Be well-organized and developed with supporting details, using the techniques and types of evidence we have discussed in class.
Be proofread for grammar, sentence and other language errors.
NOT be a summary of your sources , but rather, a presentation of YOUR ARGUMENT and YOUR THINKING with support from the sources. Do not use any sources excessively.
Be in the Proper Format --- DOUBLE SPACED!
Include a proper heading and title. NO COVER PAGES or IMAGES.
Be in correct MLA format, including in-text citations and a Works Cited Page.
Be ORIGINAL and NOT plagiarized.
NOTE: I WILL NOT BE PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON GRAMMAR IN ORDER TO
FOCUS ON YOUR CONTENT. HOWEVER, LANGUAGE CLARITY IS PART OF YOUR
GRADE, SO MAKE SURE YOU PROOFREAD CAREFULLY FOR GRAMMAR AND
LANGUAGE ERRORS BEFORE SUBMITTING THIS ESSAY.
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