The Power of Storytelling
By Jessica Muzii and Ellie Powers, Apollon Editors Spring 2021
Innocent until proven guilty. Yusef Salaam shares his story as one of the members of “The Central Park Five'' in the program, “One Book One Town,” a virtual author event that was held on March 2, 2021.
“One Book One Town” is a program that Fairfield Public Library has annually hosted since 2006. Each year a novel is selected for the public to closely examine and enjoy. This year, the selected novel was Punching the Air, written by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. This book has been used in many classrooms as a means of introducing young students to societal issues and the importance of social justice and equality.
Focusing largely on disparities in the current criminal justice system in the United States and racial inequalities, this novel tells a fictionalized account of a true story about five young men who were wrongfully convicted for the assault of a female jogger in Central Park. Once known as “The Central Park Five,” Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam are now known as “The Exonerated Five.” Their story highlights the vulnerability associated with an individual’s skin color and how it can impact the ways in which people are viewed by others in society. Salaam’s discussion of “The Exonerated Five’s” story stressed the need for societal change to progress towards true equality.
Salaam emphasized the importance of bringing about a true change towards a system for coexistence. Salaam and Zoboi asked the audience, “How do we want our society to look?” They spoke about poets, artists, and thinkers being some of the many mediums that can be utilized as a means of bringing about this change.
Writing is a very powerful form of expression that has the potential of reaching a large audience. Audience members, particularly aspiring writers who may choose to use their works as a means of sparking discussions regarding important issues, learned the importance of collaboration and using their voice as an outlet for change. Salaam and Zoboi worked together on this book, referencing the idea of Salaam being the rapper and Zoboi being the D.J. in the writing process, proving the benefits of collaborative work experiences.
Interested in learning more about “The Exonerated Five’s” story? Watch When They See Us on Netflix, a TV Drama Series based on their story.