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Yusef Salaam

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Yusef Salaam
Member of the New York City Council
from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2024
Preceded byKristin Richardson Jordan
Personal details
Born1974 (age 49–50)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children10
EducationDutchess Community College
Hunter College

Yusef Salaam (born 1974) is an American politician, motivational speaker, and activist currently serving as a member of the New York City Council, representing the city's 9th council district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, Salaam was one of the Exonerated Five who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989.

Early life

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Salaam was born in 1974 in New York City to Sharonne Salaam.[1]

Central Park jogger case and conviction

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Main article: Central Park jogger case

On April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili, a woman jogging in Central Park, was assaulted and raped by Matias Reyes.[a] Authorities accused Salaam, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Raymond Santana of assaulting her; the five teenagers—of Black and Latino race—became known as the "Central Park Five," later the "Exonerated Five." At the time, Salaam was 15. The teenagers confessed to assaulting her, but later claimed the confessions were the result of beatings and threats by police officers. Salaam later claimed that police had deprived the teenagers of "food, drink or sleep" for more than a day. All five were convicted in 1990.[3] His conviction was upheld by the Appellate Division, and was again upheld in 1993 by the Court of Appeals of the State of New York.[4] He was released from prison in 1997.[5] His conviction was vacated in 2002 and in 2014 New York City paid $41 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by the Exonerated Five.[6]

Career

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Following his release in 1997, Salaam worked as a construction worker in an apartment complex in the Mitchell–Lama Housing Program on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. He was fired after the company discovered who he was. Salaam then worked at Weill Cornell Medicine.[7] He has served on the board of the Innocence Project.[8]

In 2021, Salaam considered running for the New York State Legislature, but decided against it due to residency requirements.[5] Salaam moved back to New York City from Georgia in 2022.[8] On February 4, 2023, Salaam announced his candidacy for the 9th City Council District of New York City representing Harlem in the 2023 elections.[9] During the campaign, he was endorsed by Cornel West.[10] He won the Democratic primaries on July 5, replacing outgoing councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan and defeating assemblymembers Inez Dickens and Al Taylor.[11][12]

In January 2024, Salaam's car, which had Georgia license plates and dark-tinted windows that are illegal in New York, was stopped in Harlem by a New York City police car. When the officer approached his car, Salaam said he was a member of the city council and that he was on city business. He was on a business call with several of his colleagues including City Council member Sandy Nurse, who heard the entire police interaction.[13] He was driving to dinner with his wife and four of his children. Salaam asked why he had been stopped but the officer, on hearing that he was a council member on business, cut off the interaction and walked away saying, "Take care, sir." Officers are not required to give a reason for stopping a car, but Salaam said the police should have done so voluntarily. Critics of Salaam said he smeared the police and used his position to get out of a possible ticket.[14]

In the aftermath of the second 2024 presidential debate, Salaam confronted former president Donald Trump who previously called for Salaam to be executed, but Trump refused to walk back his statements.[15]

Personal life

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Salaam is a practicing Muslim. He has ten children, three of whom are stepchildren. In 2016, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from then-president Barack Obama.[7]

In film, Salaam is featured in documentarian Ken Burns's film The Central Park Five (2012).[16] He is portrayed as an adult by Chris Chalk and as a child by Ethan Herisse in filmmaker Ava DuVernay's television miniseries When They See Us.[17] In 2022, "Gate of the Exonerated" was dedicated at the northern end of Central Park in honor of Salaam and the other members of the Exonerated Five.[18]

Electoral history

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New York City's 9th City Council district, 2023 Democratic primary[19]
Party Candidate Maximum
round 		Maximum
votes 		Share in
maximum
round 		Maximum votes
First round votesTransfer votes
Democratic Yusef Salaam 3 6,993 63.8%
​​
Democratic Inez Dickens 3 3,962 36.2%
​​
Democratic Al Taylor 2 1,685 14.8%
​​
Democratic Kristin Richardson Jordan (incumbent, withdrawn) 2 1,108 9.7%
​​
Write-in 1 121 1.1%
​​

Selected works

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  • Salaam, Yusef (2021). Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice. New York City: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9781538704981.
  • Salaam, Yusef (October 12, 2016). "I'm one of the Central Park Five. Donald Trump won't leave me alone". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 10, 2023.

Notes

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  1. ^ In September 2002, Reyes came forward to state that he raped Meili. DNA tests confirmed that semen on the jogger's sock matched Reyes's, although the Central Park Five had already served out their sentence by the time he was convicted.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Salaam 2021, p. 71.
  2. ^ "Man Says He was Central Park Rapist". ABC News. September 26, 2002. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Hassan, Jennifer (June 28, 2023). "A Central Park Five member could soon be a N.Y. councilman. Who is Yusef Salaam?". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "People v. Salaam".
  5. ^ a b Bocanegra, Michelle (June 1, 2023). "A son of Harlem is now an outsider looking in". Gothamist. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Ransom, Jan (June 18, 2019). "Trump Will Not Apologize for Calling for Death Penalty Over Central Park Five". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Bellafante, Ginia (July 5, 2023). "For Yusef Salaam, a Landslide Just Might Be the Best Revenge". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Mays, Jeffery (April 6, 2023). "Trump's Arrest Lifts Campaign of Man He Once Condemned". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "Yusef Salaam, member of Exonerated Five, announces run for New York City Council". CBS News. February 4, 2023. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Caina Calvan, Bobby (June 20, 2023). "Once wrongly imprisoned for notorious rape, member of 'Central Park Five' is running for office". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  11. ^ Ailworth, Erin; Vielkind, Jimmy (July 8, 2023). "Yusef Salaam of 'Central Park Five' Case: From Prison to New York City Council". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Prater, Nia (July 5, 2023). "Exonerated Member of Central Park Five Officially Wins City Council Race". Intelligencer. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Mays, Jeffery C.; Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (January 28, 2024). "The N.Y.P.D. Pulled Over a City Councilman. Now Both Are Under Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Mays, Jeffery C.; Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (January 28, 2024). "The N.Y.P.D. Pulled Over a City Councilman. Now Both Are Under Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "Trump confronted by 'Central Park Five' member in debate spin room". The Independent. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  16. ^ Chadha, Janaki (July 10, 2023). "Central Park Five member's landslide City Council win represents power shift in Harlem". Politico. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (August 10, 2018). "'Central Park Five': Chris Chalk, Ethan Herisse Among 6 Male Leads Cast In Ava DuVernay's Netflix Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "New York City to honor Central Park Five at park entrance". Associated Press. December 12, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  19. ^ "DEM Council Member 9th Council District". Retrieved July 5, 2023.

Further reading

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