FAITH LEADERS, SURVIVORS OF RIKERS, AND ALLIES HOLD VIGIL AT RIKER HOMESTEAD AND RIKERS ISLAND HONORING EARLY HERO IN RIKERS ISLAND HISTORY
Faith leaders, advocates, and other New Yorkers met Thursday afternoon near the Riker Homestead, where they held a silent march and vigil celebrating the life and work of David Ruggles and the Committee for Vigilance. The march started at the Riker Homestead at 1pm and arrived at the entrance to Rikers Island shortly after that. This event was part of a series organized by faith partners of the Campaign to Close Rikers during Black August connecting Rikers Island with the legacy of slavery and freedom in New York.
Many communities honor Black August by calling attention to the connections between Black liberation and the carceral state. Nat Turner, the Soledad Brothers, and other Black freedom fighters fought racialized American slavery and mass incarceration, but another important figure in this struggle was David Ruggles, whose Committee for Vigilance fought Richard Riker and the New York Kidnapping Club’s efforts from the 1830s to 1850s to detain free Black people and send them to enslavement the South under Fugitive Slave legislation. Rikers Island—named after Richard Riker—is legally mandated for closure by 2027, but is still a site of racialized state violence, with Mayor Adams slow-walking its closure while 42 people have lost their lives in DOC custody since his inauguration.
"As Rikers Island continues to disappear and kill people, and traumatize families, today we commemorate the life of David Ruggles and his fight against the notorious Judge Richard Riker and his 'Kidnapping Club.' With two years until the legally mandated deadline for Rikers' closure, we can best honor Ruggles' work for freedom and human rights by closing that death camp down as quickly as possible. We call on Mayor Adams and all of our elected leaders to take action to meet this legal and moral obligation," said Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack.
Rikers Island has become a symbol of injustice, not justice,” said Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Courter, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Forest Hills. “We have seen far too many deaths within its walls of confinement, and paid far too much for too long for criminal mistreatment. The Christian faith proclaims that God the Creator made humanity and called it good, therefore every human life is precious. It is a tragedy and miscarriage of justice that people arrive alive at Rikers and come out dead, too often without even having had a trial. We have already seen the legal remedy: close Rikers and replace it with borough-based jails. This is what New Yorkers have elected to do, and now is the time to do it. The Gospels tell us that how we treat others shows our faith, or lack of it. Leaving Rikers open to continue its mistreatment of human beings shows a profound lack of faith and disregard for our fellow human beings. It's time to do the right thing.”
David Ruggles’ abolitionist efforts led to the liberation of many enslaved people, including Sojourner Truth and Fredrick Douglas. He lived in New York City in a time when Black people could be accused of being a “fugitive slave”, kidnapped and sold into slavery regardless of their status. A century later, we are facing similar dynamics of Black and Brown bodies being disappeared from our communities and detained in a space that is the epitome of “cruel and unusual.” Today we remember this history, honor the legacy and call on the memory of David Ruggles. May the City have the same boldness to honor their commitments to close Rikers, open more humane jails and reinvest in our communities,” said vigil organizer Rev. Dominique Atchison.
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