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
  • omnibus

Rikers Island, Slave Catching, and the Modern Carceral State
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
07 Mar 2025

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

Kalonji Changa
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
The Struggle for Liberation Amid Celebrity Culture
04 July 2025
We are joined by Kalonji Changa, who is a co-founder of Black Power Media, founder o
Gerald Horne
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Gerald Horne Discusses His Book "The Capital of Slavery: Washington DC 1800 - 1865"
27 June 2025
Dr. Gerald Horne is an author and historian who currently holds the John J.
Rikers protest
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Eric Adams Loses Control of Rikers Island to Federal Receivership
30 May 2025
Our guest is Melanie Dominguez, Organizing Director, New York with the Katal Center for Equity, H

More Stories


  • Mohammad Khansa
    Five reasons why the UAE is fixated on Sudan
    30 Jul 2025
    The UAE has played a significant role in Sudan’s economic landscape over the past decade and appears willing to maintain its involvement amid ongoing conflict.
  • Roger D. Harris , John Perry
    Trump’s Latin American Policies Go South
    30 Jul 2025
    Trump's Latin America playbook reads from the old colonial handbook—coups for Venezuela, sanctions for Cuba, and open arms for far-right leaders.
  • DH interview
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor , ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Trump SMASHES EU, Threatens Ibrahim Traoré, Putin and BRICS w/ David Hundeyin, Ajamu Baraka Margaret Kimberley
    30 Jul 2025
    Trump just humiliated the West, but it's the Global South led by Russia, China and the BRICS that are having the last laugh. BAR Editor and Columnist, Ajamu Baraka, BAR Executive Editor Margaret…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio July 25, 2025
    25 Jul 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss Canada’s role as a U.S. imperialist client state and how its image as a friendlier northern neighbor is contradicted by support for Israel’s genocide, increases in…
  • Immigration flight graphic
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Trump Africa Policy: Imperialism, Resource Extraction, and Deportations
    25 Jul 2025
    Our guest is Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan African Newswire. He joins us from Detroit to discuss the Trump administration policy towards Africa, including the recent visit of five African heads of…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us