Ava DuVernay Releases "When They See Us" Netflix Trailer

Source: D Dipasupil / Getty

On Friday director Ava DuVernay released the trailer for the long-awaited Netflix limited series of the five young men who came to be known as the “Central Park Five.”

The movie titled, When They See Us, willfocus on story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, the black and hispanic men who were falsely convicted of beating and raping a white woman in a case that polarized the city of New York City during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The boys were convicted in 1990 and served a total of six to thirteen years in prison.

“Not thugs. Not wilding. Not criminals. Not even the Central Park Five,” DuVernay wrote, referring to the full page 19189 ad realty mogul Donald Trump took out in the Daily News describing the boys as such. “They are Korey, Antron, Raymond, Yusef, Kevin. They are millions of young people of color who are blamed, judged and accused on sight. May 31. Netflix. A film in four parts about who they really are. WHEN THEY SEE US.”

In 2002, the group was exonerated by DNA evidence and in 2014, the city of New York agreed to a $41 million dollar settlement, but the story of false conviction and the failure of the criminal justice system still reverberates to this day.

The film has a star studded cast including, Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Storm Reid, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.

When They See Us will premiere on Netflix on May 31. Check out the trailer below.