Ibi Zoboi

Yusef Salaam

From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo. The story that I thought was my life didn't start on the day I was born Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white. The story that I think will be my life starts today Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it? With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

Unti Teen - ABB

This inspirational memoir serves as a call to action from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam, of the Exonerated Five, that will inspire us all to turn our stories into tools for change in the pursuit of racial justice. They didn't know who they had. So begins Yusef Salaam telling his story. No one's life is the sum of the worst things that happened to them, and during Yusef Salaam's seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, he grew from child to man, and gained a spiritual perspective on life. Yusef learned that we're all "born on purpose, with a purpose." Despite having confronted the racist heart of America while being "run over by the spiked wheels of injustice," Yusef channeled his energy and pain into something positive, not just for himself but for other marginalized people and communities. Better Not Bitter is the first time that one of the now Exonerated Five is telling his individual story, in his own words. Yusef writes his narrative: growing up Black in central Harlem in the '80s, being raised by a strong, fierce mother and grandmother, his years of incarceration, his reentry, and exoneration. Yusef connects these stories to lessons and principles he learned that gave him the power to survive through the worst of life's experiences. He inspires readers to accept their own path, to understand their own sense of purpose. With his intimate personal insights, Yusef unpacks the systems built and designed for profit and the oppression of Black and Brown people. He inspires readers to channel their fury into action, and through the spiritual, to turn that anger and trauma into a constructive force that lives alongside accountability and mobilizes change. This memoir is an inspiring story that grew out of one of the gravest miscarriages of justice, one that not only speaks to a moment in time or the rage-filled present, but reflects a 400-year history of a nation's inability to be held accountable for its sins. Yusef Salaam's message is vital for our times, a motivating resource for enacting change. Better, Not Bitter has the power to soothe, inspire and transform. It is a galvanizing call to action.

Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice

Better, Not Bitter

WORDS of a MAN is a selection of poems written by transformational speaker, Yusef Salaam, during his wrongful incarceration (1987-1995) in connection with the Central Park Jogger case. The case attracted nationwide attention and was the subject of many articles and books, both during and after the trials. Convictions were overturned when the real rapist - a since convicted murderer serving a life sentence - confessed to the crimes and proved to be a DNA match. Ten years later, documentarian Ken Burns, his daughter Sarah Burns and her husband David McMahon released the award-winning film, The Central Park Five, which told of this travesty from the perspective of Yusef and his cohorts.. These writings - addressing a wide range of subjects from the justice system, to love, and black life in general - helped to get a young Yusef Salaam through several years of unjust imprisonment. He hopes they will be a source of inspiration for others - especially young men of color.

My Right to Be

WORDS of a MAN

Amal Shahid é um adolescente negro e muçulmano de 16 anos comum crescendo no Brooklyn — até que se envolve em uma briga em um bairro branco de classe alta e se torna o principal suspeito de um crime que não cometeu. Ele é declarado culpado, enviado para um centro de detenção juvenil e, em meio ao caos que sua vida se tornou, luta para encontrar forças em sua arte. Mas o que fazer quando até mesmo isso lhe é negado? Com um lirismo envolvente, a autora premiada Ibi Zoboi se une a Yusef Salaam, ativista pela reforma carcerária, para contar a emocionante e profunda história de um menino tentando manter sua humanidade e lutando pela verdade em um sistema feito para usurpá-lo de ambas.

Socando o Ar

This inspirational memoir serves as a call to action from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam, of the Exonerated Five, that will inspire us all to turn our stories into tools for change in the pursuit of racial justice. They didn't know who they had. So begins Yusef Salaam, telling his whole story for the first time: of resilience in the face of one of the gravest miscarriages of justice. Despite having confronted the racist heart of America, Yusef channeled his energy and pain into self-determination and positivity. During his seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, Yusef gained a spiritual perspective on life, realizing that we are all "born on purpose, with a purpose." Better, Not Bitter is the inspirational story of a young man growing up in central Harlem in the '80s, the failure of America's criminal justice system, of being vilified by a nation. But during his years of incarceration, Yusef discovered the power of art and faith, and of holding on to the person you know you are, which gave him the strength to survive, and helped him through reentry and exoneration. Yusef's journey inspires us to accept our own path, to discover our own sense of purpose. His intimate insights help unpack the racist design of systems built for profit and oppression of Black and Brown people. This motivational memoir urges us to channel fury into action, and to turn anger and trauma into a constructive force to enact change in one's own life and for a better future.

The Power of Hope and Living on Purpose

African Studies/Theatre/Religion/History Break-ins, vandalism, hostility between two of Elijah Muhammads top lieutenants, and now message pads are missing from Muhammads office in his Chicago headquarters: The J. Edgar Hoover-led FBI is the primary suspect. There are plots and plotters, heroes who could be villains, victims who just might be perpetrators, suspects, betrayalsall stirred to an intriguing boil in this absorbing new play. Eric Coleman, actor, director New York Beacon Your award-winning short stories, articlesare a testament to the outstanding contributions you have made over the years. Congressman Charles B. Rangel Eldon Bullock brought insightful perspective with his role inpresenting the inner turmoil experienced by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, including his unspoken respect for Malcolm X since their split. Liberata Dance Theatre New Salaam play reading at the Schomburg Center is riveting. Herb Boyd, biographer New York Amsterdam News Yusef Salaam writes passionately about the African-American experience. New York State Senator Bill Perkins

Yusef Salaam

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