ThoughtGallery.org > Author event- “Rikers: An Oral History” of America’s most notorious jail

Author event- “Rikers: An Oral History” of America’s most notorious jail

Rikers: An Oral History

An in-person event about a new book with co-authors

Graham Rayman & Reuven Blau

plus Eddie Rosario, a former detainee at Rikers

Hosted by Carl Dix, Revolution Books

In-person, masks provided.

Reserve your seat here on Eventbrite.

A 360-degree view inside the country’s largest detention complex. Deeply personal accounts—featured in this new book for the first time—take readers on a harrowing journey into every corner of Rikers. These are visceral stories of despair, brutality, resilience, humor, and hope, told by the people who were marooned on the island over the course of decades.

“This mesmerizing and gut-wrenching book shows the brutal realities that tens of thousands of people have been forced to navigate, and survive, in America’s most notorious jail.”
—Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black

* 85% of the people held at Rikers haven’t been convicted of anything! They’re in this modern day debtors prison because they’re too poor to pay the bail the courts have set.

* 55% of the people in Rikers are Black and 33% are Latinos and Latinas.

* 17 people died in custody in Rikers in 2022, and 15 people died in 2021

* Prison authorities keep the prison under control thru a mix of official brutality – unleashing their guards to beat detainees and abuse them in other ways – and by setting groups of prisoners against each other, having them fight and even kill each other over who gets the top dog position in the pecking order among people who are held in what amounts to modern day slavery.

* On top of that, there’s the miserable conditions people are forced to endure in Rikers – barely edible food, substandard health services (when care is even provided) and more.

Rikers – An Oral History documents all this and more through interviews with many people who have been detained at Rikers and with some of the people who do the detaining.

Graham Rayman writes about criminal justice and policing. He has won multiple journalism prizes over his thirty-year career.

Reuven Blau is a senior reporter at The City. He has previously worked at the New York Daily News, the New York Post, and the Chief-Leader.

Eddie Rosario was formerly incarcerated on Rikers Island.

Carl Dix from Revolution Books will host. Carl spent 2 years in prison for refusing to go to Vietnam, and he will bring the perspective that the inhumane state of prisons in this society; their role in maintaining an economic-social order of exploitation, inequality, and racial oppression; and the fact that reform after reform leads to no fundamental change… all this underscores why we need a real revolution.

Programs at Revolution Books sponsored by Revolution Books Educational Fund a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.

Masks provided.

Donation suggested $5-$10 to support Revolution Books.











When: Wed., Apr. 19, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Revolution Books
437 Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Ave. @132nd St
212-691-3345
Price: free-- you can donate!
Buy tickets/get more info now
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Rikers: An Oral History

An in-person event about a new book with co-authors

Graham Rayman & Reuven Blau

plus Eddie Rosario, a former detainee at Rikers

Hosted by Carl Dix, Revolution Books

In-person, masks provided.

Reserve your seat here on Eventbrite.

A 360-degree view inside the country’s largest detention complex. Deeply personal accounts—featured in this new book for the first time—take readers on a harrowing journey into every corner of Rikers. These are visceral stories of despair, brutality, resilience, humor, and hope, told by the people who were marooned on the island over the course of decades.

“This mesmerizing and gut-wrenching book shows the brutal realities that tens of thousands of people have been forced to navigate, and survive, in America’s most notorious jail.”
—Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black

* 85% of the people held at Rikers haven’t been convicted of anything! They’re in this modern day debtors prison because they’re too poor to pay the bail the courts have set.

* 55% of the people in Rikers are Black and 33% are Latinos and Latinas.

* 17 people died in custody in Rikers in 2022, and 15 people died in 2021

* Prison authorities keep the prison under control thru a mix of official brutality – unleashing their guards to beat detainees and abuse them in other ways – and by setting groups of prisoners against each other, having them fight and even kill each other over who gets the top dog position in the pecking order among people who are held in what amounts to modern day slavery.

* On top of that, there’s the miserable conditions people are forced to endure in Rikers – barely edible food, substandard health services (when care is even provided) and more.

Rikers – An Oral History documents all this and more through interviews with many people who have been detained at Rikers and with some of the people who do the detaining.

Graham Rayman writes about criminal justice and policing. He has won multiple journalism prizes over his thirty-year career.

Reuven Blau is a senior reporter at The City. He has previously worked at the New York Daily News, the New York Post, and the Chief-Leader.

Eddie Rosario was formerly incarcerated on Rikers Island.

Carl Dix from Revolution Books will host. Carl spent 2 years in prison for refusing to go to Vietnam, and he will bring the perspective that the inhumane state of prisons in this society; their role in maintaining an economic-social order of exploitation, inequality, and racial oppression; and the fact that reform after reform leads to no fundamental change… all this underscores why we need a real revolution.

Programs at Revolution Books sponsored by Revolution Books Educational Fund a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.

Masks provided.

Donation suggested $5-$10 to support Revolution Books.

Buy tickets/get more info now