*WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, November 4th, For Our Future and MoveOn.org Political Action (@MoveOn) in partnership with American Bridge (@American_Bridge) hosted a Twitter Townhall with Yusef Salaam (@yusefsalaam), who was wrongly convicted and imprisoned in the Central Park jogger case. Using his personal handle (@yusefsalaam), Salaam tweeted from the hashtag #ForOurFuture. Highlights are below.
During the Townhall, Yusef empowered his twitter followers to GOTV for @HillaryClinton and keep @realDonaldTrump away from the Oval Office. Asked what he tells his kids when they ask about @realdonaldtrump, Yusef said, “I tell them they will have a great history to tell their grand children how we came out strong on this. We were able to #DumpTrump.”
In another notable exchange, Yusef acknowledged, “Racism is alive and well. @realdonaldtrump proves that. Hate groups love him. He says what they are thinking. #NeverTrump #DumpTrump.”
Yusef additionally made clear in his most Retweeted Tweet of the day that “I am absolutely considering suing @realDonaldTrump for what he did and continues to do to us. His service is not needed #DumpTrump.”
Asked what he “tells voters of color who say they’ve lost hope in the system and refuse to vote?”, Yusef responded, “I tell us we have the power to change the system. Our vote counts we can not cast it blindly. #DumpTrump We deserve better
I am absolutely considering suing @realDonaldTrump for what he did and continues to do to us. His service is not needed #DumpTrump https://t.co/2uu2rROfa6
— Yusef Abdus Salaam (@yusefsalaam) November 4, 2016
It terrifies me to know that this is where our country has gone. But we do have a choice with our #Vote #DumpTrump https://t.co/R79A7dw73r
— Yusef Abdus Salaam (@yusefsalaam) November 4, 2016
The Townhall comes the day after Hillary Clinton recounted Trump’s history with Salaam and the Central Park Five case. Declared Hillary: “To him, those kids were still and will always be guilty, no matter what the evidence says. Do we want this man appointing judges? Do we want him controlling the Justice Department?” To watch, click here.
The event is part of Salaam’s commitment to using his story to empower young voters to participate in the political process.
Notes Yusef Salaam, who was 15 years old when he was falsely accused and attacked by Trump: “My message to young African American voters is we must use the collective power of our vote to stop Donald Trump’s racism, bigotry, and hate, because there are dangerous consequences for our community if Donald Trump becomes President. If Donald Trump had his way, I would have been executed because in his mind five minority teenagers had to be guilty and to this day he feels the same way despite our exoneration, the actual rapist admitting to the crime, and all the DNA evidence. When Trump makes up his mind you are guilty based on his hateful and bigoted worldview, he will not let science, facts, or evidence get in the way of his rush to judgment and hate-filled attacks. Whether you’re a young African American voter in Charlotte, Philadelphia, Miami, Orlando, Cleveland, Milwaukee or St. Louis, I implore you not to sit on the sidelines in this election. Take a stand against racial injustice and let your vote by your voice in stopping Donald Trump from becoming president.”
In October, For Our Future and Moveon.org Political Action featured Salaam in a viral video ad, which has received more than 3 million views. In the clip, Salaam describes how Trump’s racially charged public hate campaign against him nearly ended his life. “Donald Trump was calling basically for us to be murdered,” Salaam says. “I think had this been the 1950s, we would’ve been modern day Emmett Tills.”
Even after Salaam and the other four others were exonerated in 2002 because the real rapist came forward and admitted to the crime and DNA evidence confirmed he was the sole attacker; and the city finally settled with Salaam and the four others in 2014; Donald Trump repeated his hate-filled attacks against them and they continue to this day.
For Our Future and Move.Org previously held a Facebook Live event with Yusef that was viewed more than 33,000 times.
Additionally, For Our Future put $200,000 behind a :30 version online that is being delivered to more than 500,000 African Americans voters in crucial battleground states.
“We want as many young voters as possible to hear Yusef Salaam’s powerful story and to follow through on his call to vote,” said Amanda Brown, Campaign Director at For Our Future, of the Twitter Town Hall event.
In 1989, Donald Trump launched an ad campaign in New York newspapers calling for the death penalty against Salaam and four other innocent teenagers (four African Americans and one Puerto Rican), who were wrongfully accused of rape in the Central Park jogger case.
Even after Salaam and the other four others were exonerated in 2002 because the real rapist came forward and admitted to the crime and DNA evidence confirmed he was the sole attacker; and the city finally settled with Salaam and the four others in 2014; Donald Trump repeated his hate-filled attacks against them and they continue to this day.
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