Yusef Salaam Biography
On April 19, 1989, a young woman in the prime of her life was brutally raped and left for dead in New York City’s Central Park. Five boys—four black and one Latino—were tried and convicted of the crime in a frenzied case that rocked the city. They became known collectively as “The Central Park Five.”
Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after spending between seven (7) and thirteen (13) years of their lives behind bars. The unidentified DNA in the Central Park Jogger Case, unlinked to any of the five, had finally met its owner, a convicted murderer and serial rapist who confessed. The convictions of the boys, now men, were overturned and they were exonerated. One of those boys, Yusef Salaam, was just 15 years old when his life was upended and changed forever.
Since his release, Yusef has committed himself to advocating and educating people on the issues of false confessions, police brutality and misconduct, press ethics and bias, race and law, and the disparities in America’s criminal justice system. In 2013, documentarians Ken and Sarah Burns released the documentary “The Central Park Five,” which told of this travesty from the perspective of Yusef and his cohorts.
In 2014, The Central Park Five received a multi-million dollar settlement from the city of New York for its grievous injustice against them. Yusef was awarded an Honorary Doctorate that same year and received the President's Life Time Achievement Award in 2016 from President Barack Obama.
He was appointed to the board of the Innocence Project in 2018, and has released a Netflix Feature limited series called “When They See Us” based on the true story of the “Central Park Five” with Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey and Robert De Niro, in May of 2019.
Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Yusef Salaam and other top speakers and celebrities.
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How to book Yusef Salaam?
Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Yusef Salaam for both live and virtual events for over 15 years. The team at All American Entertainment represents and listens to the needs of organizations and corporations seeking to hire keynote speakers, celebrities or entertainers for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment. Fill out a
booking request form for Yusef Salaam, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get pricing information and check availability for Yusef Salaam or any other celebrity of your choice.
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How much does it cost to book Yusef Salaam?
Booking fees for Yusef Salaam, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. Pricing often varies between live and virtual events. Other factors that can affect speaker fees include the talent's schedule, market conditions, length of presentation, and the location of the event. The live and virtual event speaking fees listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only. In some cases, the actual quote may be above or below the stated range. For the most current fee to hire Yusef Salaam, please fill out the
booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak with an experienced booking agent.
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Who is the agent for Yusef Salaam?
All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Yusef Salaam for clients worldwide for more than 15 years. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Yusef Salaam for your next private or corporate function.
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What is a full-service talent booking agency?
All American Speakers is a "buyers agent" and exclusively represents talent buyers, meeting planners and event professionals, who are looking to secure celebrities and speakers for personal appearances, speaking engagements, corporate entertainment, public relations campaigns, commercials, or endorsements. We do not exclusively represent Yusef Salaam or claim ourselves as the exclusive booking agency, business manager, publicist, speakers bureau or management for Yusef Salaam or any other speaker or celebrity on this website. For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage.
Yusef Salaam is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Yusef Salaam for your event is $20,000 - $30,000. Yusef Salaam generally travels from Atlanta, GA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Bakari Sellers, Bobby Seale, Nikki Giovanni, Ilyasah Shabazz and Angela Davis. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Yusef Salaam for an upcoming live or virtual event.