As historically “Black” districts in Central Brooklyn evolve, encompass various neighborhoods, and/or gentrify, Black candidates for elected office use tactics, voter targeting and coded messaging to appeal to different sub constituencies that cut across race, class and a variety of identity lines. This week in Third Rail we examine electoral politics in a gentrifying Central […]
The recent youth-led demonstrations that were prompted in response to the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida have jump-started a conversation around the role that youth play in combating American-style gun violence. The site of the Parkland massacre was Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a majority white school in Broward County, Florida. However, Black and Brown […]
Raking in over $400 million in its opening weekend, Black Panther has broken almost all box office records. But what does that mean for Black Brooklynites, the media they make and the legacy we leave? We discuss Marvel’s Black Panther with film and television producer, Okema T. Moore and Curtis Caesar John, Director of The […]
Gentrification has many of us thinking, just how long does one of America’s largest Black Community have before it is disappeared? We discuss Weeksville, Brooklyn’s first free Black Community with guests, Vivian Warfield whose family has a long Brooklyn lineage, and historian Aimee VonBokel. Segment One: Mark and Veralyn talk to Vivian about her commitment and descendancy to […]
On the eve of the NYC elections, the Brooklyn Deep team examines all the local gentrification drama that helped define the political landscape this summer. Joining us is Michael Higgins Jr., the lead organizer for Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE). Also, Brooklyn Deep’s engineer and co-producer, TK, hooks on a mic and […]
If there is any question about what Black culture remains in Brooklyn, all you have to do is check out the summer scene on the streets of Brownsville, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Fort Greene and even Dumbo where festivals and block parties celebrate Brooklyn negritude. Mark, Veralyn and guests, Zawadi Morris, Editor of BK Reader, and […]
In this special mini-episode we continue our conversation about Black-Orthodox Jewish relations and take a look at the conflicts between two othered communities in one area, Crown Heights. Mark talks to Leo Ferguson a leader in Jews for Economic and Racial Justice (JFREJ) about equating Jewishness with whiteness, the similarities and differences of Black and Jewish […]
Crown Heights is America’s most infamous Black-Orthodox Jewish conflict zone. Mark and Veralyn explore the intersections of these identities with Chava Shervington, a Black orthodox woman who spent 5 years in Crown Heights, but now lives in California. Joining us remotely, Chava reflects on dueling narratives of Black anti-semitism and Jewish racism. Segment One: We […]
A recent article in Brooklyn Deep ran an exclusive on a study by Inside Airbnb, an Airbnb activist project that has been largely critical of the Airbnb enterprise. The study concludes that Airbnb acts as a racial gentrification tool in New York City’s predominantly Black neighborhoods. “Across all 72 predominantly Black New York City neighborhoods, Airbnb […]
An estimated 2,200 children are victimized by commercial sexual exploitation annually. Mark and Veralyn delve inside this world and explore the impact of human trafficking on the lives of Black girls in Central Brooklyn and what it means for local “public safety.” On hand are Shelley J. Klein, Esq, Chief Communications and Development Officer for Girls […]