Jharrel Jerome pays tribute to exonerated Central Park Five in Emmy acceptance speech

Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, the four-part drama tells the true story of the Central Park Five — Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Yusef Salaam — who were pressured into falsely confessing to the brutal attack and rape of Trisha Meili in 1989.Jerome's riveting performance as Wise — who was then the oldest of the accused at 16 years old, and thus served his 14 years as an adult in the corrections system — earned him critical praise. He was the only one of the five main actors to play his role as a teen and as an adult.After thanking his parents, the 21-year-old named the five men who sat alongside veteran actors and Oscar-winners in the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.As they stood up and applauded him, a visibly emotional Jerome said: "I felt like I was in a championship game, and we went through our final hurrah," he said. "Thirty years ago they were sitting in a prison cell, falsely incarcerated, and today they're in suits styled by designers for the Emmys."Not only is Jerome the first Afro-Latino actor to be nominated for and win in an acting category, he is also the youngest actor to win Lead Actor in a Limited Series.The relative newcomer, who hails from the Bronx, beat Mahershala Ali, Benicio del Toro, Hugh Grant, Jared Harris and Sam Rockwell for the award.Appearing overwRead More – Source