Yusef Salaam

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 councilmatic 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
Salaam was born in 1974 in New York City to Sharonne Salaam.

Central Park jogger case and conviction
On April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili, a woman jogging in Central Park, was assaulted and raped by Matias Reyes. 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. 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. He was released from prison in 1997. 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.

Career
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. He has served on the board of the Innocence Project.

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

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. 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.

Personal life
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.

In film, Salaam is featured in documentarian Ken Burns's film The Central Park Five (2012). 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. 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.