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


  • End the Injustice of Nonunanimous Juries
    Calvin Duncan
    End the Injustice of Nonunanimous Juries
    09 Sep 2020
    Non-unanimous verdicts allow ten jurors to “simply ignore the views of their fellow panel members of a different race or class.”
  • The Stalinist Trial of Julian Assange
    John Pilger
    The Stalinist Trial of Julian Assange
    09 Sep 2020
    The collusion of powers wants to bury Julian alive in their war on the very principle of freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and democracy.
  • Decades-Old Gang Laws Are Being Used to Target Black Lives Matter Protesters
    Ali Winston
    Decades-Old Gang Laws Are Being Used to Target Black Lives Matter Protesters
    09 Sep 2020
    By using gang laws, authorities can do an end run around First Amendment protections on freedom of association
  • The Role of the Black Bourgeoisie in Coopting Our Movements
    Ahjamu Umi
    The Role of the Black Bourgeoisie in Coopting Our Movements
    09 Sep 2020
    The Black bourgeoisie, including the next generation of them after Obama, will continue to derail us with their empty promises of inclusion.
  • Mexico: First the Poor
    Roger Stoll
    Mexico: First the Poor
    09 Sep 2020
    The country’s new leftist president struggles to honor his people’s "right to stay home" by fighting poverty and expanding access to education.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us