Yusef Salaam, member of the Central Park Five, runs for New York City office
Dr. Yusef Salaam, a member of the infamous Central Park Five, is running for New York City office.
Once a teenager falsely accused and convicted of rape, Salaam is now running for New York City Council in Central Harlem, vying for votes in the June 27 Democratic primary against career politicians Al Taylor and Inez Dickens.
Salaam, 49, is an NYC native hoping to make a difference in a city that once sentenced him to prison, where he served nearly seven years before being exonerated in 2002.
Thirty-four years after being falsely accused, Salaam is running to represent a struggling neighborhood grappling with poverty 10 points higher than the 18% citywide rate.
While his competitors have pointed to his lack of governmental experience as a disqualifier, Salaam frames his lack of political experience as potential virtue.
“I’ve often said that those who have been close to the pain should have seat at the table,” Salaam said during an interview with the Associated Press.
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The Central Park Five AKA The Exonerated Five
In 1989, a 15-year-old Salaam experienced first-hand the impact NYC’s power, politics and institutions can have on an otherwise normal life. Salaam was part of a group of Black and Latino teens, now called the “Exonerated Five,” who were falsely accused of the rape and beating of Trisha Meili, a white woman who was attacked while jogging in Central Park.
The group, which also included Antron McCray, 15; Kevin Richardson, 14; Raymond Santana, 14 and Korey Wise, 16, were handed down sentences in 1990 ranging from 7 to 13 years.
The convictions came despite a lack of witnesses, conflicting stories, allegedly coerced confessions and inconclusive DNA evidence. It wasn’t until 2002, when serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime and it was confirmed with DNA, that the five were officially exonerated. By that time, they had all served their sentences.
After their exoneration, the young men took legal action against the city, filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination and emotional distress. The city eventually reached a settlement of $40 million with the group, who later sued the state of New York and won an additional $3.9 million.
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Yusef Salaam’s platform
Salaam, now a father of 10, left New York for Stockbridge, Georgia after his release, returning to New York as recently as December 2022. He still considers NYC his home, however, and has spent the years since his release as a political advocate, serving on the board of the Innocence Project, an organization that helps wrongly convicted individuals navigate the legal system.
While Salaam’s competitors recognize his celebrity as a factor in the campaign, Salaam doesn’t shy away from his notoriety, using it in speeches as a way to have conversations about mass incarceration and criminal-justice reforms. According to his campaign website, his platform is centered on equity and the empowerment of marginalized groups; housing, environmental and economic justice; safety and human infrastructure.
“When people look at me and they know my story, they resonate with it,” Salaam told AP. “But now here we are 34 years later, and I’m able to use that platform that I have and repurpose the pain, help people as we climb out of despair.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Central Park Five member Yusef Salaam runs for NYC city council
