Brooklyn Deep Third Rail

Guest Host: Anthonine Pierre Studio Guests: Max Freedman and Mark Winston Griffith Show Description 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 stirring and epic look at race, class, and power in American cities and schools through the lens of Central Brooklyn. In the first segment, Anthonine goes behind the scenes with Mark and Max to give us a deep appreciation for the four-year process that resulted in the complex and personal stories of School Colors. And then, of course, we finish the episode with “Tell ‘em why you’re mad.”

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 on rent stabilized units.  This will no doubt have a profound impact on the ways in which landlords are able to set the pace of housing displacement.  Today, we’re joined by two members/allies of the Brooklyn Movement Center family who in their own ways have been enforcing the rights of tenants and fighting against harassment from landlords.   Rae Gomes is a pioneering member-leader of the Brooklyn Movement Center and the emerging Central Brooklyn Food Coop. She most recently co-founded a tenants association in her building and has since become a crusader for renter rights in Black Brooklyn.    Accompanying her is Addrana Montgomery, a staff attorney at TakeRoot Justice, formerly known as the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center. Addrana has been leading the effort to establish a monthly pop-up tenants’ rights legal clinic here at the Brooklyn Movement Center.   Host Mark Winston Griffith uses the top of the show to facilitate a discussion on the experiences of tenants, specifically those in small unit buildings in Central Brooklyn.  Next, we get into the brave new housing regulatory world in New York and how it will effect Central Brooklynites.   And then of course, we close with that on-going call to anger, "Tell em why you’re mad." Engineer & Editor-Siad "Gypsy" Reid Intro and Outro theme Music: “City Survival” by MC K-Swift featuring TreZure Empire.                   Episode Music: "Fallout",  Yung Kartz

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 we’re joined by two organizers in the struggle to not only legalize cannabis but to reframe the conversation about what a de-criminalized future could look like. We will be talking to them about where the decrim movement is today and what is the potential social and economic impact of legalization on an area like Central Brooklyn. And then of course, we’re going to close with that on-going call to anger: Tell em why you’re mad.   Engineered by Siad "Gypsy" Reid   Intro and Outro theme Music: “City Survival” by MC K-Swift featuring TreZure Empire.                   Episode Music: "Fallout",  Yung Kartz

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 and engineer Siad “Gypsy” Reid, is Curtis Ceasar John, Director of the Luminal Theater. Segment One: We walk through Curtis’ top five list and other honorable mentions. Segment Two: We consider the dominating influence of Spike Lee on Black Brooklyn commercial cinema. Segment Three: "Tell 'Em Why You Mad" Intro and Outro theme Music: “City Survival” by MC K-Swift featuring TreZure Empire.                   Episode Music: "Fallout",  Yung Kartz

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, food can also be an agent of redlining and division.   On this episode of Third Rail, holiday edition, we sit down with two figures, Karen Cherfils and Craig Samuel - two Central Brooklynite at the intersection of neighborhood and meal-makeing - to discuss the politics of community food.    Segment One: We celebrate the power of food and hear stories of community building through culinary magic. Segment Two: We take a critical look at the role that food plays - whether intentionally or unwittingly - as a marker of privilege.  Segment Three: "Tell 'Em Why You Mad" Intro and Outro theme Music: “City Survival” by MC K-Swift featuring TreZure Empire.                   Episode Music: "Fallout" by Yung Kartz.Sound Engineer & Editor Siad "Gypsy" Reid.