The shooting of Saheed Vassell by the NYPD on April 4th in Crown Heights re-ignited a chronic community safety debate: What kind of discretion should we use in calling the police when we know that it can result in a death sentence for an unsuspecting Black person? Today, we investigate what runs through people’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
We are proud to announce our first-ever crowdfunding campaign, now live on Kickstarter. Here’s the thing: this is an ALL OR NOTHING campaign – if we don’t hit our goal of $15,000, we don’t get a dime. That $15k will help us keep Third Rail going, hire additional journalists, and help us lay […]
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 […]
Join us as we use Voices of Crown Heights oral histories to frame a community discussion and vision of what true “law and order”and “peacekeeping” look like in Crown Heights. WHEN May 16, 2017 at 6:30pm – 8:30pm WHERE Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Avenue CONTACT Walis Johnson · walisjohnson@gmail.com · 7187717000 RSVP link: http://brooklynmovementcenter.nationbuilder.com/beyond_popo_bringing_public_safety_to_crown_heights
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 […]