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


  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump and Political Violence Waged by the U.S.
    17 Jul 2024
    The words “political violence” are the latest hackneyed and dishonest phrase emanating from the political class. The assassination attempt on Donald Trump was a minor affair compared to the treatment…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    TRANSCRIPT: Analyzing the Correct Method in Combating American Fascism, George Jackson, 1971
    17 Jul 2024
    Martyred Black Panther, George Jackson told us long ago that fascism has been the de facto political state of the US for some time. Today we can clearly see that both Trump and Biden are, quite…
  • Displaced people in DRC
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Israel in Palestine, Rwanda in DRC
    17 Jul 2024
    Palestinians and Congolese both find themselves victims of a genocide that they did not commit and that did not take place on their territory.
  • Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
    Democratic Party Turmoil, African Americans and the Attempted Assassination of Trump
    17 Jul 2024
    Biden orders an “independent review” of the incident as the colossal security failure takes center stage.
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Political violence has no place— Like home?
    17 Jul 2024
    "Political violence has no place— Like home?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us