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


  • Brahim Rouabah , Corinna Mullin
    On the Coloniality of Solidarity: Iran, Imperialist Aggression, and the Western Left’s Blind Spot
    03 Dec 2025
    The 'pure' leftism of the Western academy denounces Iran's state while ignoring its real crime: defying imperialism. This selective solidarity has become a weapon of empire, disarming the very…
  • John Perry , Roger D. Harris
    It’s Not Only About Venezuela: Trump Intends a Wider Domino Effect
    03 Dec 2025
    One-fifth of the U.S. Navy now sits in the Caribbean, positioned to initiate regime change in Venezuela and beyond. This is a campaign to cleanse the hemisphere. First Venezuela, then any government…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio November 28, 2025
    29 Nov 2025
    In this week’s segment, we talk to a man whose brother was killed by an NYPD officer who the police commissioner, reappointed by Zohran Mamdani, refused to fire from his job. But first, we discuss a…
  • China Changes Everything
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    China Changes Everything
    29 Nov 2025
    Jacqueline Luqman is a radical activist based in Washington DC, and the co-founder of Luqman Nation, an independent Black media outlet. She joins us from Washington to discuss a newly published book…
  • Mamdani and Tisch
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Mamdani Reappoints NYPD Commissioner Who Refused to Punish Killer Cops
    28 Nov 2025
    Samy Feliz is an organizer with Justice Committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to building a movement against police violence and systemic racism in New York City and empowering low-income…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us