Columbia University’s black student activists are calling for the university to fire Elizabeth Lederer, the lead district attorney in the Central Park Five case, from lecturing at the school.
What We Know:
- Since the release of the miniseries “When They See Us“, Linda Fairstein has been sent into a frenzy as she was dropped from various companies. Next up on the chopping block is Lederer who works at the New York County DA’s office. Demands for her to be fired were sparked from the miniseries, but Columbia has yet to make a comment.
- “In 2013 a petition was circulated, which gained thousands of signatures and demanded the removal of Lederer. Instead of taking decisive action to address the issue, Columbia Law School simply removed the Central Park jogger case from Lederer’s online bio,” read a letter from Columbia’s Black Law Students Association.
- The students also called for changes to be made in the curriculum and for educators to participate in anti-racist training.
- Columbia’s Black Student Organization created a Change.org petition that garnered over 8,000 signatures for the university to hold Lederer responsible for her role in prosecuting the teenage boys.
Do you think Columbia University should keep Lederer or terminate her?
New statement released from the @ColumbiaLaw Black Law Students Association
Students call for #CentralPark5 prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer to be fired from her Lecturer in Law position
Also call on the law school to center anti-racism in its curriculum and pedagogy pic.twitter.com/U8By81KWBB
— Barred and Boujee (@AudreLawdAMercy) June 11, 2019
