Four men of color wrongly accused of a New York assault in 1989 walked onstage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday with strong words of criticism against one of their accusers: former President Donald Trump.
Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana, four of the former “Central Park Five,” appeared after an introduction from Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Let me tell you, this is gonna be so beautiful. Together on Nov. 5th, we will usher in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz into the White House,” Salaam told the crowd.
Along with Antron McCray, who was absent, the group of men were accused of brutally sexually assaulting a white female jogger in 1989, but they were exonerated more than a decade later, in 2002. The group, who were all teens or young adults when they were arrested, is now also known as the “Exonerated Five.”
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Trump infamously spent $85,000 on a full-page ad in The New York Times addressing the case: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY, BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”
He never apologized for helping to lead the charge against the group after they were exonerated.
“Forty-five wanted us unalive. He wanted us dead,” Salaam said.
“Today, we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed, and DNA proved it,” he went on, pointing out that Trump still stands by the original verdict.
“He dismisses the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong. He has never changed, and he never will. That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not,” Salaam said.
“We have the constitutional right to vote. In fact, it is a human right, so let us use. I want you to walk with us, I want you to march with us, I want you to vote with us,” he said.
In November, Salaam won a seat on the New York City Council.