Yusef Salaam

Yusef Salaam (born 1974) is an American politician, motivational speaker, and activist. He is the Democratic nominee for the 9th City Council District of New York City in the 2023 elections. Salaam was one of the Central Park Five who were wrongfully accused and convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park in 1989.

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

On April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili, a white 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". 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 officer. 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. 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 Central Park Five.

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 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. During his campaign, he referenced Trump's advertisements, replacing the bolded text to reinstate the death penalty with a message to "bring back justice and fairness" and "build a brighter future for Harlem". Salaam's campaign has focused on poverty rates in Harlem.

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 Central Park Five.

• 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.