The closest I’ve ever come to a tragedy like this that deeply affected Orlando was the Pulse massacre, and even then the response from the city was completely different than that of the events surrounding the Central Park Five. When speaking with other friends in New York who were there at the time, the response has been similar.
This may sound so obvious, but many people don’t consider the rippling waves of racializations, mob killings, the spike in racial tensions, and the terror of what it takes to merely make it through the day safely when events like this are experienced secondhand via the evening news and newspaper headlines. I’m embarrassed to say that was the case for me.
ICM, thank you for sharing your firsthand experience. You’ve broadened my understanding of the time then and now, and how all of this is more far-reaching than I/we realize. Hopefully, more people will take note and work towards change.
