CAMPAIGN LEADERS

DARREN MACK

“The closure of all ten jails, the establishment of the borough-based plan, and communities attaining the resources needed to produce the safety and health - this will put us on track for the next phase of our work.“

Darren was detained at Rikers Island for 19 months as a teenager before completing the rest of a 20-year sentence upstate. While in prison he obtained bachelors degree with the Bard Prison Initiative. After his release he co-founded the movement to close Rikers. He is the Co-Director at Freedom Agenda, and sits on the Commission on Reinvestment and the Closure of Rikers.

MEDIA APPEARANCES

  • Closing the Pipeline that Feeds the Disaster of Rikers

    By Darren Mack and Wendy Calderon-Payne

    Gotham Gazette, May 26, 2022

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  • More staff won’t solve what plagues Rikers

    By Carlina Rivera and Darren Mack

    Daily News, May 23, 2022

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  • We Need Eric Adams to be the Mayor Who Closes Rikers

    By Darren Mack

    Gotham Gazette, Jan. 14. 2022

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  • The Trouble With the Correction Union

    By Darren Mack

    NY Daily News, Oct. 22, 2021

    Read Now!

Q+A

1.) How are you connected to this movement?  

I'm the Co-Director of Freedom Agenda and a survivor of Rikers Island. I was detained on Rikers as a teenager when the population was over 20,000. My activism to close Rikers goes back to late 2015.   

2.) Why should Rikers close?  

Rikers is the last penal colony in the US which has become a human rights crisis. New York City has the highest DOC budget in the country and produces the worst results. Rikers is the worm in the Big Apple that cannot be fixed or reformed. The only solution for Rikers is closure. 

3.) What is your vision for a more just and equitable post-Rikers New York City?  

It's multipronged and continuous. The closure of all ten jails on Rikers including the Boat to end this human rights crisis. The establishment of the borough-based plan to address the horrific conditions in the existing facilities. Lastly, communities like Brownsville, East Harlem, and the South Bronx attaining the resources needed to produce the safety and health like other heavily resourced communities have developed over the years. This will put us on track for the next phase of our work.