Yusef Salaam was one of The Central Park Five. At only 15 years old in 1989, he and four other children, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, were falsely accused of the brutal rape of a Central Park jogger. The Central Park Five did not become the Exonerated Five until their convictions were overturned in 2002, after Korey Wise encountered the actual rapist in prison and persuaded him to come forward. Salaam, was incarcerated for seven years before being released and returned to society, forced to bear the label “parolee”, rather than “innocent” man. Now prison reform activist Yusef Salaam is telling his story, in his own words, from growing up Black in central Harlem in the '80s to being raised by a strong mother and grandmother, through his years of incarceration, reentry, and exoneration. Tonight, as a part of our Chasing The Dream initiative, Yusef joins us with his inspirational memoir “Better, Not Bitter: Living On Purpose In The Pursuit Of Racial Justice” to share the lessons and principles he learned that gave him the power to survive through the worst of life's experiences.