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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 17 auguSt 2019
The real Brian Banks speaks out on prison injustice, reform

By GARY GERARD HAMIL- these wrongs, and as a per- limited series that tells the
TON son who's been through it, stories of the Central Park
Associated Press I'm one of them," he add- Five, a group of New York
NEW YORK (AP) — When ed. teens who spent six to 13
Brian Banks' home was a Banks, 34, was a standout years in prison after being
prison cell due to a crime high school football player wrongfully convicted of
he didn't commit, he never who many believed had raping a female jogger in
imagined his life would be a shot at the NFL, until his 1989.
the subject of a film. He dreams were derailed "I know those guys — those
was only concerned with when he was falsely ac- are friends of the Inno-
clearing his name and re- cused of rape by a high cence Project network. We
gaining his freedom. school classmate in 2002. get together on a yearly
Now, seven years after he He was only 16, took a plea basis and share our stories,"
was exonerated on a rape and served nearly six years Banks said.
allegation, Banks hopes the in prison. He spent an addi- He had a hard time sitting
film detailing his fight for tional five years on parole through parts of the series
justice helps move along with a mandatory ankle In this Thursday, May 24, 2012 file photo, Brian Banks weeps after that was created, co-writ-
reform. bracelet as a registered his rape conviction was dismissed in court in Long Beach, Calif. ten and directed by Ava
"What I want people to sex offender, until he was Associated Press DuVernay.
take away from this is that exonerated in 2012 after his "I have only watched half
what I went through was accuser recanted and with Once Banks was cleared out of fear because politi- of that series and that's be-
unacceptable, what many help from the California In- and Hollywood came call- cians have been making cause the second half was
others have gone through nocence Project. ing, the two said their goal people afraid for a long just a little difficult for me
is unacceptable," he told The film, "Brian Banks," re- was to make a "justice mov- time. The only way reforms to watch because I can
The Associated Press. cently opened and stars ie," not a football movie. can happen is if people relate," Banks said. "I know
"For those that are currently Aldis Hodge as Banks and "I want people to walk out are thinking straight." what it feels like. I know
behind bars, or no longer Greg Kinnear as Justin of this movie theater and Since his release, Banks has what they went through.
behind bars but have ex- Brooks, co-founder of the remember this movie next worked as a life coach and And so once the court pro-
perienced wrongful con- innocence group. Sherri time they're sitting in jury public speaker. His book, ceedings of that series kind
viction, I want you to know Shepherd plays Banks' duty, that maybe this per- "What Set Me Free," came of came to a conclusion
that you're not alone, that mother, Leomia Delaney. son in front of them is inno- out in July. and they were found guilty
you haven't been forgot- Brooks hopes the film will cent," Brooks told the AP. The film follows the release and the whole prison expe-
ten, that there are people motivate viewers to join the "And next time they go into of "When They See Us," the rience began, I had to tune
working on trying to fix criminal justice reform fight. a voting booth to not vote Emmy-nominated Netflix out, man."q

Latino actors, writers pen 'letter of solidarity' amid fears

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS unnerved some Hispanics. seeking out escape routes
Associated Press "We have been smeared amid fears they could be
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) by political rhetoric and next.
— Actresses America Fer- murdered in violent hate The shootings and the raid
rera and Eva Longoria are crimes. We have been come against a backdrop
leading a group of more separated from our fami- of racist episodes that in-
than 150 writers, artists and lies and have watched our clude then-candidate
leaders who have written a children caged," the letter Donald Trump referring
public "letter of solidarity" to said. "But, we will not be to Mexican immigrants as
U.S. Latinos after the mass broken. We will not be si- "rapists"; Trump, as presi-
shooting in El Paso, Texas, lenced." dent, referring to migrants
and an immigration raid in The letter says such "indig- coming to the U.S. as "an
Mississippi. nities and cruelty" won't invasion"; and viral videos
The letter, published Friday diminish the contributions of white people chastis-
in The New York Times and Latinos have made to the ing Hispanics for speaking In this July 25, 2016, file photo, actress Eva Longoria speaks dur-
in a handful of Spanish-lan- U.S., and it urged Hispan- Spanish in public. ing the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Phila-
guage newspapers, says ics to keep standing up to Longoria told The Associ- delphia.
the signers stand with U.S. bigotry. ated Press that she and Associated Press
Latinos who may feel "ter- Signing the letter were Ferrera got the idea for the
rified, heartbroken and de- some of the most impor- letter after they talked and not meant to take politi- and take it," America said.
feated by the barrage of tant Latino figures in enter- found out they were both cal sides but to reach out "We are going to stand
attacks," citing the shoot- tainment, art, literature and depressed and sad after to Americans regardless up and fight." Mónica
ing in El Paso, which target- activism, including novelist the El Paso shooting. of party to say Latinos are Ramírez, a civil rights lawyer
ed Hispanics, and another Sandra Cisneros, Academy "Once we started talking hurting. and activist who helped or-
shooting in Gilroy, Califor- Award-winning actress Rita to other people, we found Ferrera told The AP that La- ganize the letter, called it a
nia. The two attacks killed Moreno, civil rights leader out others were feeling the tinos have been subjected "letter of love" and hopes it
nearly two dozen Latinos. Dolores Huerta, singer-ac- same way," Longoria said. to a number of racist at- changes some hearts.
A huge immigration raid tress Jennifer Lopez and "Instead of us all suffering tacks recently, but the El "We also wanted to make
of Mississippi poultry plants Tony Award-winning com- alone we wanted to unite Paso shooting and the Mis- sure that people under-
this month that rounded poser Lin-Manuel Miranda. and tell our community sissippi raid were "just soul- stand that our commu-
up 680 mostly Latino work- The violence has some His- that is going through all of crushing" for some. nity is powerful and we
ers, leaving behind crying panics looking over their this ... we are with you and "We wanted to do some- have many allies," Ramírez
children searching for their shoulders, avoiding speak- we will fight for you." thing to let people know said. "We don't want other
detained parents, also has ing Spanish in public, and Longoria said the letter is we aren't going to lie down groups to be targeted."q