Yusef Salaam, One Of Exonerated 5, Announces Harlem City Council Bid

HARLEM, NY — Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated "Central Park Five," announced over the weekend that he will run for City Council in Harlem.

Salaam declared his candidacy for Harlem's 9th Council District, joining Inez Dickens and Al Taylor in challenging the recently elected incumbent Kristen Richardson Jordan. Jordan won the last District 9 Democratic primary by less than one percent over then Council Member Bill Perkins.

"I will ensure any development that comes to our district advances the interests of those who have lived through the blight," Salaam said during his announcement in Harlem on Saturday. "Today begins Harlem’s campaign for change and I look forward to working with you all as we lead our neighborhood into a new era of glory that truly provides liberty and justice for all.”

During his remarks, Salaam mentioned the importance of ensuring city services throughout the Harlem community, making sure local streets and parks were safe, and no longer criminalizing mental health problems.

Salaam, along with the rest of the "Central Park Five," — who were all Black and Latino minors — was wrongly convicted in 1990 for the rape of a white jogger in the famous Manhattan park.

He would go on to serve almost seven years in prison before he was exonerated.

In 2014, the group received a $41 million payout from the city, of which more than $7 million went to Salaam.

In the years since, Salaam was appointed to the board of the Innocence Project in 2018, which is a nonprofit committed to exonerating people who have been wrongfully convicted.

He has also worked as an advocate on the issues of false confessions, police brutality, press ethics and bias, and the disparities in America's criminal justice system.

Patch will do an article soon on all of the announced candidates in the City Council race for Harlem's District 9.