Member of The Exonerated Five to speak on campus Thursday evening

One of the members of The Exonerated Five will be in Central Washington this week, speaking to groups of students and community members.

Raymond Santana, one of five African-American teenagers wrongfully convicted of a violent attack in New York’s Central Park in 1989, will be the guest of honor at a series of events in Yakima on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a speaking engagement on CWU’s Ellensburg campus on Thursday evening.

The free town hall-style speaking engagement will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the McIntyre Music Building, with a question-and-answer session will follow. CWU Law and Justice Professor Teresa Divine will moderate the discussion.

The events are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Yakima, and the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of Yakima, Solarity Credit Union, and CWU.

Santana and four other teens were tried and convicted of the rape and assault of a young woman, and they served between five and 13 years in prison for what became known as “The Central Park jogger case.” In 2002, their convictions were overturned when DNA evidence linked a convicted murderer and serial rapist to the crime, for which he also confessed.

Mal Stewman, director of CWU’s Diversity and Equity Center (DEC), said he hopes to accompany a group of CWU students to Yakima, and he is also hoping to see a strong turnout for Santana’s appearance in Ellensburg.

“We want to expose our students to important national conversations like this, and we would like to build a strong Central presence at these events,” he said.

CWU students are encouraged to attend the Thursday event, which is open to anyone who is interested. The event is co-sponsored by the DEC, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Africana and Black Studies and Law and Justice departments.