Ava DuVernay Shares Birthday Tribute To Korey Wise Who 'Defeats Darkness Daily'

Ava DuVernay shared a heartfelt birthday message on Twitter in honor of Korey Wise, whose story was portrayed in her critically acclaimed series “When They See Us.” 

The director tweeted a portrait of Wise on Friday, writing, “Today is the day that a king is born.”

Wise, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson, widely known for decades as the so-called Central Park Five , were wrongly convicted as teenagers of a brutal rape that took place in New York City’s Central Park in 1989.

DuVernay’s Netflix limited series, which was released May 31, put a spotlight on their stories. 

“His power is his survival,” DuVernay said of the now-47-year-old in her Twitter post. “His strength is his sword. He defeats darkness daily. He endures. He inspires. Saluting you today, @KoreyKingWise. I celebrate your life and thank you for letting me be a part of it. Happy Birthday, brother.”

Wise, the oldest of the five black and Latino men of the Central Park Five, spent nearly 13 years behind bars . He served time until 2002, when the convictions of each of the men were vacated. DNA evidence and a confession linked a convicted serial rapist and murderer to the crime.

In 2015, Wise funded the Korey Wise Innocence Project at Colorado Law, a student-led volunteer program that investigates claims of wrongful convictions. 

Many people on Twitter joined DuVernay in sending birthday wishes to Wise.