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


  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    From Kente Cloths to Keffiyehs: The Legacy of Liberal Gaslighting Continues
    28 Aug 2024
    The Democratic Party's political strategy amounts to nothing more than doublespeak and a consistent denial of the reality we see before us. The DNC was a case study of how shameless the…
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #53
    28 Aug 2024
    The Alliance of Sahel States is still developing but offers hope for Africans around the world. The growth of the confederation through trade and new alliances and the potential to officially…
  • Erica Caines
    Selective Democracy: U.S. Hegemony and Global Consequences
    28 Aug 2024
    The United States hides behind the facade of democracy to obscure the many contradictions of its domestic and foreign policy. The Democratic Party specifically peddles this lie about using democracy…
  • Julia Kassem
    The Uncommitted Movement is Uncommitted to Resistance, Committed to the Establishment!
    28 Aug 2024
    Uncommitted Movement leaders numerous times openly endorsed Harris, whose Zionist and equally genocidal track record and policies are clear and have been throughout her career.
  • Alan MacLeod
    From Fight the Power to Work for It: Chuck D, Public Enemy and How the CIA Neutralized Rap
    28 Aug 2024
    Chuck D was once seen as a rapper with the politics to back up his lyrics. But in recent years he has thrown his hat in the ring with the Department of State, acting as a willing agent of the U.S.…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us