Member of ‘Central Park Five’ wrongly imprisoned for rape is running for NYC Council

A member of the “Central Park Five,” a group of five Black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of assaulting and raping a white woman in New York’s Central Park in 1989, is running for New York City Council.

Yusef Salaam, who spent nearly seven years in prison for the false conviction, is running to represent a Harlem district in the Democratic primary on June 27.

“I’ve often said that those who have been close to the pain should have a seat at the table,” Salaam said during an interview.

The New York City native was 15 years old when he was wrongly imprisoned alongside four other teenagers before leaving prison in 1997. In 2002, uncovered DNA evidence and a confession from the true culprit led to the overturning of the sentences for the so-called “Exonerated Five.”

Salaam is a long-time activist on issues of prison abolition, police brutality and disparities within the criminal justice system. In 2019, alongside two other members of the group, Salaam lobbied for a state measure that would outlaw some of the police tactics that led to their wrongful convictions.

The vocal advocator has based his platform around tackling issues in Harlem like poverty, homelessness among children and rent issues.

“I’ve been fighting for justice for 34 years since I was 15 years old. And more importantly, the next person to assume the seat of city councilmember in Central Harlem is going to be the person who determines what the future of Harlem looks like,” the candidate said.

Salaam joins two other more politically seasoned candidates – New York Assembly members Al Taylor and Inez Dickens in the Democratic primary on June 27, which has already begun early voting.