Guest Host: Anthonine Pierre Studio Guests: Max Freedman and Mark Winston Griffith On this special edition of Third Rail, Anthonine Pierre steps into the host chair and interviews Mark Winston Griffith and Max Freedman, the co-hosts and co-producers of the documentary podcast, School Colors. Representing Brooklyn Deep’s most ambitious project today, School Colors is a […]
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 […]
It’s with both sadness and excitement that we announce the departure of long-time Third Rail co-host Veralyn Williams. This will be her last show as co-host. Sadness, because Veralyn’s been a central member of the BMC/Brooklyn Deep family for almost 5 years and excitement because we know that Veralyn is going to be tearing it up […]
In this episode of Third Rail we focus on those in Central Brooklyn who are on the front line of gentrification: tenants and renters. This past June, Governor Cuomo signed into law a sweeping new collection of rent regulations which re-set the bar for tenant protections and curtailed the power of landlords to dictate rates […]
Cannabis or Marijuana use in a Black area like Central Brooklyn has always been a complex issue. While many people call marijuana use a “gateway” to heavier drug addiction, the reality is, getting picked up by the police for distributing or using weed has been a gateway to the criminal justice system. In this episode […]
In a special post Academy Award edition of Third Rail, we indulge our twin loves, BK and movies, by paying homage — and occasional shade — to Black Brooklyn through the lens of cinema. Specifically, we pose the question, what are the best Black Brooklyn movies ever made? Joining Third Rail host Mark Winston Griffith […]
Food, one of the most potent cultural forces in American life, represents our ability to come together across tribal lines, especially during the holidays. At the same time, in Central Brooklyn and other gentrifying cities, where restaurants and groceries stores are not just markers of distinct tastes and cuisines, but of race and class privilege, […]
As the cultural and economic displacement of low-income people of color intensifies in New York and throughout urban America, the parallel strivings of Asian- and African-Americans force activists to deeply consider their alliances and how to navigate battle lines. This week on Third Rail we examine the state of Black-Asian relations in gentrifying New York […]
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 […]
Shaila Dewan, a reporter for the New York Times who covers the criminal justice system, moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant with her husband in 2012, when she was “very pregnant” with their first child. “I didn’t really know that much about the schools,” she said, “except that nobody I knew went to any of them. I asked […]