T
he temperature
in Southern
California is well
above 27 degrees
Celsius. It’s the
warmest day of
the year so far- the kind of Sunday in spring that
inspires a frenzy of optimism for
the long, hazy days of summer to
come. But right before I sit down
with producer and director Ava
DuVernay and the cast of her new
Netflix series, When They See Us,
the mood changes. News breaks
that Nipsey Hussle has been shot.
After the shock of the initial
report, it’s DuVernay herself
who shares word that the rapper - whom she knows as a close
family friend – has succumbed to
his wounds. There is a collective
moment of silence; the air fills with
a profound sorrow, and she steps
out of the room for a bit. Near
tears, I’m reminded of the bright,
beautiful weather outside and of
the ominous hood proverb: folks
act crazy when it’s hot outside.
The very first scene of When
They See Us also takes place on a
warm day, though in Harlem in
1989. Five boys join a large
group of neighbourhood kids
on their way to Central Park,
and what follows becomes
a matter of national news. The
boys – Raymond Santana Jr
(played by Freddy Miyares), Kevin
Richardson (Justin Cunningham),
Antron McCray (Jovan Adepo),
Yusef Salaam (Chris Chalk) and
Korey Wise (Jharrel Jerome) – are
wrongly ensnared in a sensational
investigation after a young white
female jogger is found raped and
left for dead. The boys come to be
known as the Central Park Five,
and their lives change forever.
DuVernay’s four-part series- her first big directing project
since A Wrinkle in Time – recounts
not just the highly publicised
trials that sent the boys to prison
but also the eventual vacating of
their sentences and their return
to society. It makes for the kind
of viewing experience that some
would call ‘emotionally gripping’
and others (read: POC) may find
triggering, as it mirrors persistent
and deep-seated personal fears.
We see futures squandered, lives
trampled. They could have been
- her first big directing project
brothers, lovers, husbands, friends
or children.
In restoring to these men some
semblance of their humanity, the
show makes a powerful argument
about an especially cruel aspect
of oppression: after the system
destroys you, it then dictates how
your story gets told. Thirty years
on, DuVernay hopes When They
See Us will correct the record.GQ: Ava, how did you
choose this story as
your next project?
Ava DuVernay: I received
a tweet from Raymond Santana Jr
asking what my next movie was- and would it be CP5? I went into
his DMs. I said that I’d be in New
York and while I was there I would
look him up. We had a meal, we
talked, and I’d seen a documentary
and thought it was a compelling
story. I met all of the men, one by
one, and told them that I wanted
to tell it.
GQ: I know a number of
you were able to meet the
person you played before
shooting – including at themeal Ava organised.
What was it like to
meet these men?
Jharrel Jerome: We were
blessed that they showed up to the
table read, and that’s where I got to
meet Korey. I had so many nerves
just meeting these guys. Just
knowing the responsibility that
we have to play these men.
Everything was so delicate you
could hear a pin drop.
ADV: The men were involved
with the whole process. They were
interviewed extensively by me, by
the other writing staff, and they
were on set. They were just [in LA]