Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five is Running for City Council in Harlem

One of the “Exonerated Five,” members Yusef Salaam, a native of Harlem, is running for city council.

Salaam, who served seven years in prison, is running for office in Council District 9, which includes his hometown of Harlem.

During a speech at the old Harlem YMCA on 135th Street, he said, “We are here now to chart a new path forward.”

“In a country that’s supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, they saw the color of our skin and said ‘Guilty, guilty, guilty,'” he said.  “It would have been OK if Donald Trump had taken out a full-page ad when we were found to be innocent.”

Once the Manhattan district attorney’s office submitted a request with a new theory of the case—and a different suspect—in 2002, the judge overturned Salaam and the other four members of the Central Park Five’s convictions.  After undertaking a new investigation, prosecutors claimed they were no longer convinced Salaam and the others were responsible for the crime.