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


  • Merkel Reveals West’s Duplicity
    Scott Ritter
    Merkel Reveals West’s Duplicity
    07 Dec 2022
    Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that the collective west never had any intention of honest dealings with Russia. This "war of choice" was not provoked by Russia.
  • Afghanistan News Update #15
    Black Alliance For Peace
    Afghanistan News Update #15
    07 Dec 2022
    The U.S. continues its theft of Afghanistan's assets, and the people there continue to suffer. 
  • Black Agenda Radio December 2, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio December 2, 2022
    02 Dec 2022
    The NYPD Gang Database profiles communities of color, Cleveland's mayor breaks a campaign promise for community control of police, and a conversation on which protests are considered legitimate, and…
  • Activists Demand Report on the NYPD Gang Database
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Activists Demand Report on the NYPD Gang Database
    02 Dec 2022
    Rigodis Appling has been a public defender in Manhattan for 17 years. She is currently working in the Special Litigation and Community Justice Unit at The Legal Aid Society. She is also a founding…
  • Cleveland Mayor Breaks Campaign Promise on Community Control of Police
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Cleveland Mayor Breaks Campaign Promise on Community Control of Police
    02 Dec 2022
    Taru Taylor is a freelance journalist based in Cleveland, where he focuses on the issue of police reform. He recently wrote an op-ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about that city’s mayor,…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us