Community Corner

C.O.O.L to Host Yusef Salaam of the Central Park 5

A screening of the Ken Burns documentary "Central Park 5" will be followed by a keynote speech from Salaam.

Editor's note: The following information is a press release from C.O.O.L, Inc.

C.O.O.L, Inc. will host "I am One of the Central Park 5"  from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at the M.A.C. Clubhouse, 781 Hamilton St., Somerset.

There will be a screening of the film "Central Park 5" and then keynote speaker Yusef Salaam will discuss how the events in 1989 dramatically altered the lives of five teenagers and why the film provides a lens through which we can understand.

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The film itself, "The Central Park Five", is a compelling documentary from award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns about the five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. The idea for the documentary came from a book by Sarah Burns, The Central Park Five: The Untold Story Behind One of New York City's Most Infamous Crimes.

C.O.O.L. - Creating Our Own Leaders, is a non-profit organization created as a response to a cry out for help from local communities that has been devastated by violence and lack of leadership.The organization is based in the Franklin township and New Brunswick areas of New Jersey.

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The organization was founded by: Tormel Pittman - President, Timothy McDougald - Vice-President, Keesha Nieda Ford - Administrator / Director Media Relations, Kavita McDougald - Secretary, and Vivian McDougald - Treasurer.

For more information on C.O.O.L., Inc. and this event, visit our website: www.njcool.org.


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