Here in New York City, Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated Central Park Five, announced he is running for a city council seat in Harlem. Salaam was one of five Black and Latino teenagers wrongfully convicted of the 1989 beating and rape of a white woman. He spent seven years in jail. Salaam said he will overhaul New York City’s criminal legal system, end mass incarceration and help bring about police reform.
His candidacy challenges progressive incumbent Kristin Richardson Jordan, a democratic socialist who has called for free public transportation, prison abolition and cuts to the NYPD budget. She has also fought for affordable housing and against gentrification in Harlem.