Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Rikers Island, Slave Catching, and the Modern Carceral State
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
07 Mar 2025
🖨️ Print Article

Black Agenda Radio · Rikers Island, Slave Catching, and the Modern Carceral State

Darren Mack is co-founder and co-director of Freedom Agenda, an organization devoted to decarceration and system transformation, including closing the Rikers Island jail. In commenting on New York City mayor Eric Adams' plan to allow ICE to operate on Rikers Island, Darren Mack pointed out the history behind the name. Richard Riker was a New York City judge who worked with slave catchers and the kidnappers who captured fleeing enslaved people and free Black New Yorkers to send them to slavery in the south. Darren Mack joins us from New York City to discuss this history, the need to close Rikers Island, and the historical connections with the modern-day carceral state.

Rikers Island
Incarceration
Slavery
New York City
Eric Adams

Related Podcasts

Carmella Charrington
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Deed Theft and Black Communities
22 May 2026
Leah Goodridge, a New York City-based attorney, housing advocate, and writer, is a memb
BAR Radio Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio April 24, 2026
24 April 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss the importance of including African-descended people in discussions around climate change and a just transition
Carmella Charrington
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Deed Theft and the Loss of Black Property
24 April 2026
Evangeline of the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft, a grassroots New York City organiz

More Stories


  • BAR Book Forum: Annette Joseph-Gabriel’s “Reimagining Liberation”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Annette Joseph-Gabriel’s “Reimagining Liberation”
    15 Jan 2020
    When fascism was on the march Black women intellectuals and activists imagined, and struggled for, a new world.
  • BAR Book Forum: Courtney Pace’s “Freedom Faith”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Courtney Pace’s “Freedom Faith”
    15 Jan 2020
    “Freedom Faith” is the belief that God wants all people to be free, and that God equips and empowers those who work for freedom.
  • Ahmed SĂ©kou Touré’s Unique and Dynamic Contribution to the Philosophy of Class Struggle
    Djibo Sobukwe
    Ahmed Sékou Touré’s Unique and Dynamic Contribution to the Philosophy of Class Struggle
    15 Jan 2020
    The ideology of Touréism combines aspects of Marxist – Leninist methodology with traditional African values.
  • The World Must End Washington’s Illegal Economic War
    Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
    The World Must End Washington’s Illegal Economic War
    15 Jan 2020
    The US is currently attacking one-third of the planet’s population with 8,000 economic sanctions, ongoing acts of war against 39 nations.
  • Du Bois and the Jefferson School of Social Science
    Denise Lynn
    Du Bois and the Jefferson School of Social Science
    15 Jan 2020
    W.E.B. Du Bois’ classes at the radical school fixed Black Americans firmly within diasporic history and his vision for a socialist future.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us