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
šŸ–Øļø Print Article

Black Agenda Radio Ā· 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


  • Joshua Reaves Charmelus
    "You Gotta Do the Road Work": Ben Passmore on the UFC, White Nationalism, and Radical Fight Culture
    24 Jun 2026
    Joshua Reaves-Charmelus spoke with Ben Passmore to discuss the ā€œFreedom 250ā€ UFC event, its meaning, and the broader problem of right-wing fighting culture.
  • Mark P. Fancher
    If You are Born in this Country with Black skin, You are Already in Jail
    24 Jun 2026
    Malcolm X explained it well. Every Black person in this country is a prisoner, sometimes literally behind bars, and sometimes on the outside of jail, but a prisoner, nonetheless.
  • Beverley Waithaka
    Kenya Is Not America's Quarantine Zone
    24 Jun 2026
    The United States announced that Kenya, with the permission of a comprador government, would serve as an Ebola quarantine hub for Americans, ignoring the will of the Kenyan people and treating the…
  • North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human Rights
    Resisting U.S. Human Rights Barbarism: The Arrest of Alyssa Philip In Trinidad and Tobago
    24 Jun 2026
    A protest leader in Trinidad was arrested during Labour Day celebrations for the crime of demanding justice for a paralyzed shooting victim. The government's willingness to silence dissent at home…
  • Isaac Saney
    Walking the Tight-Rope and Threading the Needle: Strategic Adaptation Under Siege: Cuba's Economic Reforms and the Defence of Socialist Sovereignty
    24 Jun 2026
    Washington's economic war has left Cuba with few good options. The recently announced reforms require a very thorough analysis.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us