photo credit: New York Post Archives / Getty Images
One of the prosecutors from the Central Park 5 case, Elizabeth Lederer, has resigned from her position as a professor at Colombia Law School.
Things have been heating up since Netflix has released their When They See Us docu-series. Elizabeth Lederer served as the main prosecutor from the case; she resigned from her position after the Black Law Students Association demanded her to be fired. The group of Black students reportedly released a letter and referred to her as a “racist.”
The group also called for Lederer to be fired 6 years ago- but no action was taken. She served as a part-time lecturer at the law school. She released a statement following her departure. “I’ve enjoyed my years teaching at CLS, and the opportunity it has given me to interact with the many fine students who elected to take my classes. However, given the nature of the recent publicity generated by the Netflix portrayal of the Central Park case, it is best for me not to renew my teaching application.”
It is reported that thousands of students signed the petition for her to be fired.
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
While we are pleased with this announcement, we recognize there is much work to be done. We hope to work with the administration, faculty, and students to implement mandatory trainings for all faculty, and to ensure more inclusivity in the classroom. pic.twitter.com/qDp8rR4y13
— Columbia BLSA (@columbia_blsa) June 12, 2019