Kevin Richardson, one of the Central Park Five, has received an honorary undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, according to Spectrum News. Richardson is the school’s first honorary recipient.
Richardson had always dreamed about going to Syracuse University, but at just 14-years-old, he was wrongfully convicted of rape along with four other teenagers. Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise were also wrongfully convicted of the rape of a jogger in Central Park in 1989.
The five innocent boys became known as the Central Park Five and spent several years in jail. Their story was made into a heart-breaking four-part series on Netflix directed by Ava DuVernay called When They See Us.
The case made national news and in New York, Dotard Trump, spent $85,000 to place a four-page ad in the New York Times and local papers calling for the boys’ execution. They were finally exonerated in 2002 after a serial rapist named Matias Reyes confessed and his DNA was matched to DNA found on the victim.
“Being 14, you know I was just scratching the surface, just getting to that age and being curious,” said Richardson . “That day was my Easter vacation. It went from joy to literally hell. To see that transpire so fast, I always say I was in a nightmare and I didn’t wake up from it.”
Richardson, 46, said that he feels blessed to finally be at Syracuse University and receiving the school’s first honorary degree. Now men, the Central Park Five are known as the Exonerated Five.
“My brothers, as the Exonerated Five, we rose from the pitfalls of hell,” he said. “And to be here literally is a blessing and I don’t take anything for granted…To be recognized by the university, that’s a really big deal. I brought my 13-year-old to witness it, to carry my legacy. So to be the first of anything is a blessing and I’m extremely humbled by it.”
Richardson added that his 13-year-old daughter also wants to go to Syracuse to study music.
DuVernay posted to Twitter last year after learning that Syracuse planned to give Richardson their first honorary degree.
He always wanted to go to Syracuse. That dream was cut short when he was arrested + convicted of crimes he did not commit. His life was endangered by @realDonaldTrump, who called for his execution. But he overcame it all. Now, he’s a husband and father and – a Syracuse alum. xo https://t.co/Wo0EwZfMuA
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 19, 2020
Syracuse also honored Richardson back in 2019 by naming a scholarship after him, the Our Time Has Come Kevin Richardson Scholarship.
In addition to his Syracuse-bound daughter, Richardson also has a four-year-old daughter.
