Historically accurate.
And for those of you who didn't know, the land called Rikers island, before it became host to one of the most dangerous prisons in the country, actually belonged to an ancestor of NY's slave patrol:
Jacob Morris, director of the
Harlem Historical Society, recently started a petition to rename the embattled jail complex due to family member
Richard Riker's history of helping send blacks into slavery during the 19th century.
Riker presided over the main criminal court in New York City, the Court of Special Sessions, in the early 1800s, and he used his authority in this position to send blacks to slavery as part of what abolitionists called the Kidnapping Club, according to historian
Eric Foner.
Petition Seeks New Name for Rikers Island Over Historic Ties to Slavery
"In accordance with the Fugitive Slave Act, members of the club would bring a Black person before Riker, who would quickly issue a certificate of removal before the accused had a chance to bring witnesses to testify that he was actually free,"
Elizur Wright Jr.'s 19th-century newsletter "Chronicles of Kidnapping," read. The newsletter is cited in work from Columbia University history professor
Eric Foner, a Pulitzer Prize winning author who writes at length about the embattled island and its beginnings.
Rikers Island Was Named After A Judge Who Was Eager To Uphold Slavery