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


  • Mississippi Goddam
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Mississippi Goddam
    09 Sep 2022
    Jaribu Hill is Director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights. She joins us to discuss a Mississippi political scandal involving a former governor who gave millions of dollars in funds…
  • Let Cuba Live
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Let Cuba Live
    09 Sep 2022
    Steven Hardge works on mutual aid and community survival projects and programs as a community organizer with Endstate Atlanta. He joins us to discuss his recent trip to Cuba as part of a Community…
  • Black Politics in San Francisco, Part I
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Politics in San Francisco, Part I
    09 Sep 2022
    Jemma Decristo is a community organizer in San Francisco, where a Black mayor and other officials enact policies against the unhoused and the poor and where gentrification continues. She joins us…
  • Biden's MAGA Obsession Won't Help Democrats
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Biden's MAGA Obsession Won't Help Democrats
    07 Sep 2022
    Because Joe Biden and democrats act on behalf of the oligarchy instead of the people, they now risk a mid-term election loss. His solution to this political problem is to speak endlessly…
  • INTERVIEW: To the Point of Production: An Interview with John Watson of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, 1969
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    INTERVIEW: To the Point of Production: An Interview with John Watson of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, 1969
    07 Sep 2022
    A 1969 interview with a founder of Detroit’s League of Revolutionary Black Workers reminds us of the radical genius and hope of Black labor.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us