“If you’re not strong enough for Rikers, it will ruin you. I’ve seen people come in there like normal people and leave somebody else.”
Kimberly Campbell first arrived at Rikers at just 16 years old. She was placed in solitary confinement for six months, navigating intense anger and panic attacks.
The testimonies of former Rikers inmates are harrowing. Their stories reveal the brutal conditions, the psychological toll of incarceration, and the systemic cruelty that has defined life on the island for decades.
Marvin Mayfield, who served two sentences at Rikers, recalls his time in solitary confinement during the summer:
"I remember there was a big door, and it closed and slammed—it made almost a seal on that room. I remember getting on the floor completely nude, throwing what little water I had from the toilet on my body to cool myself off. I laid on the floor and tried to get a little bit of air from the crack under the door. I laid like that all day because the air inside that place was just unbreathable."
Stories like these are not isolated experiences. The conditions at Rikers, described by many as inhumane, amount to state-sanctioned torture. These testimonies—and countless others—are preserved in an archive dedicated to making them visible: The Rikers Public Memory Project.
These testimonies are more than just historical records; they are tools for advocacy. The Rikers Public Memory Project does not merely document suffering—it aims to leverage these narratives to push for systemic change.
The Role of the Rikers Public Memory Project
"The Rikers Public Memory Project collects and makes visible the stories of people most impacted by Rikers Island to mobilize action toward repairing its generational harms."
The archive is simple yet powerful, designed for easy navigation. It offers brief firsthand accounts in which former inmates share specific memories, alongside oral histories that detail the years they spent at Rikers. Visitors to the archive can quickly grasp the atrocious conditions of the jail or delve deeply into the lives of those who endured it.
One animated video in the collection focuses specifically on the intake process, an experience that foreshadows the dehumanization awaiting new arrivals. Inmates recount waiting for hours on buses with no access to bathrooms, then enduring further hours in holding cells while paperwork was processed. They describe invasive physical searches, unsanitary conditions, and staff indifferent to their suffering.
The Future of Rikers: Uncertain Timelines and Federal Scrutiny
The plan to close Rikers Island, announced in 2017, aimed to replace the notorious jail complex with four borough-based facilities in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. However, these new jails have faced significant construction delays, with completion dates now pushed as far as 2032—five years beyond the city's original deadline to shutter Rikers by 2027. While the city continues to move forward with contracts for these facilities, the feasibility of closing Rikers on schedule is increasingly in doubt.
While activists fight for the closure of Rikers, plans for alternative jails have sparked resistance, particularly in Chinatown, where residents have expressed concerns over displacement and lack of community consultation. The pushback highlights the complex and contentious nature of the city’s carceral policies.
Meanwhile, the crisis at Rikers has drawn the attention of federal authorities. In November 2024, a U.S. District Judge found New York City in contempt for failing to address ongoing violence and inhumane conditions, moving the jail complex closer to federal receivership. The city was ordered to present a plan for potential federal oversight, raising the possibility that control of Rikers could be taken out of local hands.
Mayor Eric Adams has expressed skepticism about the borough-based jail strategy, citing escalating costs and delays, yet there is no clear alternative plan to address the deteriorating conditions at Rikers or the timeline for its closure. As a result, the future of Rikers remains uncertain, caught between stalled reform efforts, legal battles, and mounting federal scrutiny.
Memory as a Catalyst for Justice
The Rikers Public Memory Project: A Community Truth and Healing Process (RPMP) is the result of a collaboration between Freedom Agenda, Create Forward, and the Humanities Action Lab?*. Together, they seek to use collective memory as a strategic organizing tool in the fight to shut down Rikers for good.
*A year ago, we featured Liz Ševčenko, Founding Director of the Humanities Action Lab, in The Speaky Wheel. In her book, Public History for a Post-Truth Era: Fighting Denial through Memory Movements, she explores the role of public history in protecting the public sphere. Click here to learn more about her work.
Miguel Botero is an editor and project manager at Memria. He has co-produced more than thirty narrative projects on peacebuilding in collaboration with filmmakers and podcasters in Colombia.