The following is excerpted from OCC’s 2025 MLK Convocation held Jan. 16, 2025.
Moderators: Tracye Davis, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, Henry Ford College; Tiffany Goliday, Executive Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access/Deputy
Title IX Coordinator, Macomb Community College; and Kristina Marshall, J.D., Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice, Oakland Community College.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Yusef Salaam
Q:What happens when Justice doesn't work right away? Do you think that Justice will
ever serve as a national masterpiece?
We've started to see a lot of people come home from prison. One individual came home
after doing 40 years in prison. When I think about that type of atrocity, I remember
writing a poem about justice when we were still fighting. This poem is called "What
Happens to Justice Delayed?"…The worst part about any situation like mine and others
is that our families were out there 35 years ago saying that we didn't do it. And
because they (the justice system) got it wrong, the real perpetrator was out there
committing more crime(s). That's what happens when you delay justice and get it wrong.
We’ve got to do better. We have to do more.
Q: Dr. Salaam, 20 years later, even with exoneration, do you still watch your back?
Always. I am a survivor who went from being known as a member of the Central Park
Five to the Exonerated Five, and I'm a lawmaker who has to have an open office, open-door
policy. I can't live my life in fear. Les Brown said, "Live full, and die empty."
But I do have those very real moments where I wonder if somebody who might be walking
close enough to me might be trying to do some harm to me. I check my back more so
for my children and for my spouse.
Q:Have you received any apologies from those who publicly called for your execution?
Not directly from those individuals, but I have received apologies from police officers
and from people who were in the media...There's a book called “The Art of Justice.”
We look like we were animals, the way that they were drawing us. Marilyn Church is
the artist, and she said, “I was filled with regret when we found that they hadn't
done this crime because I truly believe that I was someone who participated in making
them guilty.” I welcome those kinds of apologies because truth and reconciliation
are about healing. You have to acknowledge some wrongs that may have happened, so
that you can move forward.
Q:How are we currently participating in our own modern-day convictions?
Oftentimes, misinformation has been used as a tool to indict a whole generation. And
by a whole generation, I'm thinking specifically about Black people. Even in the place
called the United States of America, there's this effort to unite us into one, but
the separatists want to keep things divided. And oftentimes, you have to say to yourself,
‘why?’ If you include people in the process of becoming their best oftentimes, you
have to say to yourself, ‘Why?’ If you include people in the process of becoming their
best selves, the beauty of the human family kaleidoscope will exhibit itself in such
a magnificent way. You won't find crime. You'll find compassion. You'll find resilience.
And ultimately, you'll find true justice.
Q:How does it make you feel that the jogger does not acknowledge your innocence?
I think that's perhaps the most unfortunate side of the story. It's unfortunate that
she was given this false narrative because I think that the system victimized her
twice. She was victimized in the worst way by being raped. But then she was victimized
in the worst way by saying that the guy that we caught was actually part of the original
group. But one of the things that me and my brothers, who are now known as the Exonerated
Five, have always said is our door is open for her because there has to be justice
and truth and reconciliation.
Q: Do you feel as though the person who actually committed the crime deserves to be
punished more severely for accusing or for causing the innocence of young men like
yourself to have to submit to that horrible experience?
There's something called the statute of limitations. With Matias Reyes—even though
13 years later he came forward and said, “I did it,”—what people don't know is that
not only did he say, “I did it,” they (members of the justice system) said, “We don't
believe you.” And so, what he did was he had to go on to tell them about a few unsolved
cases that they never found…the worst part about it is this: Matias Reyes will never
be convicted for raping the Central Park jogger because of the statute of limitations
so should he have a harsher penalty? Yes…She deserves justice.
Q: Speaking of the jogger, have you spoken with the victim?
None of us have. Understanding the sensitivity of all of this leads us to know that
it's not for us to push our way into anyone's life. But hopefully, maybe somebody
is telling her about these talks I've been having over the past two decades. And I
think it's important because we've become these national figures. This is one of the
reasons why—when Oprah Winfrey said, “That moniker that they placed upon you all,
calling you all the Central Park Five, we need to right that wrong,”—is how we were
reborn with the title, the Exonerated Five.
Q: What's your 2025 New Year's resolution?
To do more. To be better than I was last year. I got 10 children: seven daughters
and three sons. I want to continue to be the best example for them. I just want to
keep on doing the work and keep on making sure that I show up in an excellent way.
Q: Do you have any future political aspirations? For example, you mentioned Adam Clayton Powell. Do you also aspire for (a seat on) Senate or Congress?
I didn't aspire to be a public servant. I didn't have a dream to run for office. But now that I'm here, I realize this is where I need to be. This is where real change happens. I don't know where my political aspirations will necessarily go. When I finally got the opportunity to be a councilman and realized that we hold the purse strings in New York City. We're the ones that provide funding to the resources and the needs of our community. It's important. And it's good work.
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
I'm an artist, (but) I'm not a trained artist. I'm actually an artist that somehow had the gift; (for example) this ring that I wear. I created this ring. I got the opportunity to take it to the same jewelers that designed and created the jewelry for the Wu-Tang Clan. They were able to press this exactly how I drew it. I (also) love listening to Audible because it's about constant education. For me, learning new things is always something that inspires me because I realized that you can never stop learning.
Q: Given your personal experience and history with public figures, especially influencing public opinion in cases like yours, how do you think this incoming administration might impact the progress made on justice reform and support those who are wrongfully accused?
I know that it's going to have an effect because we already have seen some of the playbook. But I don't want to give up hope. What I look at really, even beyond just these next four years, is the whole forest…I'm encouraging people (to) have a plan that will supersede your lifetime. Know that, what you are to do and what you're called to do, is to move the needle forward. When you're passing that baton back to the next generations to come, you're teaching them how to break every generational curse. … The political process is something that we really have to educate every single person about. So many people don't even want to participate, but the political process is going to move on without them. And I often tell people (that) non-participation is participation.
For more information: Read about Dr. Yusef Salaam in this online bio or his memoir, Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice.
About OCC
Oakland Community College offers more than 80 degrees and certificates programs with the resources students need to be successful and advance our community. As a top transfer institution, OCC offers one of the state’s most affordable tuition rates and flexibility in scheduling. The College is nationally recognized for its high-demand career training and expert faculty in their fields. More than 1 million students have enrolled in the College since it opened in 1965. Learn more at oaklandcc.edu.
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