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


  • Kohen Wiley
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    One Year Old Kohen Wiley Killed Under Color of Law in Mississippi
    21 Aug 2026
    Our guest is attorney Jaribu Hill, executive director of the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights. She reports on the police killing of 1-year old Kohen Wiley in Senatobia, Mississippi and on…
  • Delcy Rodriguez
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Venezuela Under U.S. Attack
    21 Aug 2026
    On January 3, 2026, the U.S. conducted a military attack against Venezuela and kidnapped president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, First Combatant Cilia Flores. Since that time interim president Delcy…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    "Woke 1" and Democratic Party Deceit
    19 Aug 2026
    The democrats’ backtracking on what they dismissively refer to as “wokeness” is the newest iteration of their political trickery as once again they give the appearance of supporting what they…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: “People's Power, No Dictator!” Walter Rodney, 1979
    19 Aug 2026
    “The Burnham dictatorship crept up upon Guyanese people like a thief in the night.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Johanna Fernández and her Unrelenting Advocacy for Mumia Abu Jamal
    19 Aug 2026
    The late Dr. Johanna Fernández left an awesome intellectual and activist legacy that includes her 2010 documentary film “Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us