Third Rail Eps 61: The candidates for Assembly District 56

In advance of the New York primary election on June 23rd, BMC hosted a virtual Town Hall with the candidates for Central Brooklyn’s 56th State Assembly district: Stefani Zinerman and Justin Cohen. For more of our 2020 Democratic primary coverage, visit here.

Third Rail Eps 60: The candidates for Assembly District 57

In advance of the New York primary election on June 23rd, BMC Deputy Director Anthonine Pierre interviews the candidates for Central Brooklyn’s 57th State Assembly district: Walter Mosley and Phara Souffrant Forrest. For more of our 2020 Democratic primary coverage, visit here.

Third Rail Eps 59: The shifting Black electorate

This is the second episode of a special series focused on New York’s June 23rd primary elections. How is the Black electorate shifting in Central Brooklyn, generationally and politically? Anthonine Pierre talks to local political analysts Theo Moore and Sandy Nurse. For more of our 2020 Democratic primary coverage, visit here.

Third Rail Eps 58: Holding elected officials accountable

This is the first episode of a special series focused on New York’s June 23rd primary elections. Why is it important, particularly now, to hold elected officials accountable in Central Brooklyn? Mark Winston Griffith talks to three activist leaders: Esmeralda Simmons (Center for Law and Social Justice), Jawanza Williams (VOCAL-NY), and L. Joy Williams (Brooklyn […]

School Colors Eps 8: On The Move

Despite New York City’s progressive self-image, our dirty secret is that we have one of the most deeply segregated school systems in the country. But with gentrification forcing the issue, school integration is back on the table for the first time in decades. How do we not totally screw it up? And what does this […]

School Colors Eps 7: New Kids On The Block

Gentrification is reshaping cities all over the country: more affluent people, often but not always white, are moving into historically Black and brown neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant. But even as the population of Bed-Stuy has been growing in numbers and wealth, the schools of District 16 have been starved for students and resources. That’s because a […]

School Colors Ep. 6: Mo’ Charters Mo’ Problems

If you ask most people in Bed-Stuy’s District 16 why they think enrollment is falling, chances are they’ll point to charter schools: privately managed public schools, which have been on the rise in New York City for more than a decade. Charter schools were originally dreamed up to be laboratories for innovation in public education. […]

School Colors Ep. 5: The Disappearing District

Since 2002, the number of students in Bed-Stuy’s District 16 has dropped by more than half. There’s no single reason why this is happening, but the year 2002 is a clue: that’s when Michael Bloomberg became the Mayor, abolished local school boards, and took over the New York City school system. In this episode, we’ll […]

School Colors Ep. 4: “Agitate! Educate! Organize!”

In the wake of the 1968 teachers’ strikes, Black people in Central Brooklyn continued to fight for self-determination in education — both inside and outside of the public school system. Some veterans of the community control movement started an independent school called Uhuru Sasa Shule, or “Freedom Now School,” part of a pan-African cultural center […]