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

Solitary Confinement As a Tool of Political Oppression
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
06 Nov 2018
🖨️ Print Article

Since at least the 1950s, prison officials have used solitary confinement as a political tool against Black inmates, said Brittany Friedman, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University and co-author of an essay titled “Solitary Confinement and the Nation of Islam.” “When it comes to forms of extreme punishment behind bars,” said Friedman, “African Americans have long been the subject of these tools of discipline.”

Black Mass Incarceration

Related Podcasts

Black Agenda Radio July 7, 2023
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio July 7, 2023
07 July 2023
In this week’s segment we hear about CIA medical experiments performed on indigenous children in Canada and Black prisoners in the U.S.
New Documents Link CIA to Medical Torture of Indigenous Children and Black Prisoners
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
New Documents Link CIA to Medical Torture of Indigenous Children and Black Prisoners
07 July 2023
Orisanmi Burton is an assistant professor at American University’s Department of Anthropology.
Black Agenda Radio March 31, 2023
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio March 31, 2023
31 March 2023
In this segment, we will hear the second part of our discussion on racist and punitive immigration policies that are consistent from one presidenti

More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Ethiopia: National Aspiration, Identity, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
    10 Sep 2025
    “Ethiopia just changed the continent of Africa forever.” - African development economist and electricity activist 
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Department of War: What’s new is so old
    10 Sep 2025
    "Department of War: What’s new is so old" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Tamanisha John
    The Historical and Contemporary Role of Neocolonial Caribbean Governments in Supporting US Militarism and Imperialism in the Region
    10 Sep 2025
    Turning the Caribbean into a US bombing range requires local collaborators. Neocolonial governments have volunteered to play this role, betraying their people's right to peace and sovereignty.
  • Tracie Canada
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Tracie Canada’s Book, “Tackling the Everyday”
    10 Sep 2025
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Tracie Canada.  Canada is the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of…
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The Second Africa Climate Summit Reveals The New Face of Colonialism; Technocrats and Cryptocolonization (Part 1, The Setting).
    10 Sep 2025
    The Africa Climate Summit is a greenwashing front for a new wave of colonialism. Under the guise of "nature-based solutions," corporations like the Gates Foundation are pushing schemes that will turn…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us