THE BOY WHO COULDN'T READ FREED THE HURRICANE. WHERE IS HE NOW?

In 1979, a 15-year-old from Brooklyn could barely read. A few years later, he helped free one of the most famous prisoners in America. This is the real story of Lesra Martin, the teenager played by Vicellous Reon Shannon in The Hurricane (1999) with Denzel Washington. We follow him from a summer job in Brooklyn to a commune in Toronto, through the campaign that freed boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, through everything the movie changed, and find out where Lesra is today. CHAPTERS 00:00 The boy was real 01:13 What you'll learn 01:39 A boy in Brooklyn 03:10 The Canadians 04:42 The book 05:59 The night at the Lafayette 07:28 The world was watching 09:45 The letter 10:54 The mansion and the plan 14:27 Hollywood calls 16:03 What the movie got wrong 17:37 After the cameras left 19:55 The question that never went away 21:29 Where is Lesra Martin now? 24:13 The real lesson IMAGE CREDITS Rubin Carter photos: Michael Borkson, CC BY-SA 2.0 Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan: Elsa Dorfman, CC BY 2.5 New Jersey State Prison: David Keddie, CC BY-SA 4.0 Passaic County Court House: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0 City of Paterson: Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ, CC BY-SA 3.0 Toronto Coach Terminal: Toronto History, CC BY 2.0 Norman Jewison: Gail Harvey / Canadian Film Centre, CC BY 2.0 University of Toronto: SimonP, CC BY-SA 3.0 Dalhousie Weldon Law Building: Theanthill, CC BY-SA 3.0 Kamloops: Giorgio Galeotti, CC BY-SA 4.0; Old Kamloops Courthouse: Kile McKenna, CC BY-SA 3.0 Public domain: U.S. National Archives / EPA DOCUMERICA, White House Photo Office, Wikimedia Commons Stock footage: Pexels, Pixabay This video is an independent documentary and commentary. It is not affiliated with Universal Pictures, Beacon Communications or the people featured. Brief film references are used for commentary under fair use. #TheHurricane #RubinCarter #LesraMartin #TrueStory #WhereAreTheyNow #DenzelWashington #Documentary TAGS the hurricane true story, lesra martin, rubin hurricane carter, where are they now, the hurricane movie real story, denzel washington the hurricane, what the movie got wrong, wrongful conviction, true story behind the movie, the sixteenth round, lazarus and the hurricane, bob dylan hurricane, documentary