In New York City’s Upper East Side, just down the road from the Met Gala’s red-carpet celebrities and flashbulbs, around 400 high school students, teachers, alumni, parents, and formerly incarcerated people came to Regis High School’s auditorium on Monday night to listen to two high school debate students compete against two alumni of the Rikers Debate Project.

The debate on Monday focused on the question “Should cash bail be abolished?” A coin toss determined which position the teams would argue. view article

Debate with Hopkins about whether people in prison should receive vaccine priority. view video

The Rikers Debate Project is a group that teaches debate to current and formerly incarcerated people as a way to give them a say in the decisions that affect their lives. They've been featured on Sam Bee, the New Yorker podcast, and in the New York Times. Past participants have included Elizabeth Bruenig, James Forman Jr., and Farha Ghannam. The most severe Covid-19 outbreaks in the United States are no longer occurring in nursing homes or meat-packing plants, but in correctional facilities. This debate focused on vaccine trials and the ability of incarcerated people to choose to participate in them. view video

1Day Sooner, Rikers Debate Project, and Central Synagogue collaborated to host a virtual debate on the resolution: "COVID-19 human challenge trials involving young healthy volunteers should take place with or without a rescue therapy." This is the second in a series of public debates on the pertinent issue of challenge trials (you can view the first one here). As these trials seem to gain traction as a potential method of COVID-19 vaccine testing, it is very important for scientific experts, bioethicists, potential challenge volunteers, and the broader public to enter into a public dialogue about potential benefits and limitations of these trials. view video

Please join the Rikers Debate Project and Swarthmore College's Amos J. Peaslee Debate Society for a Zoom debate on the topic: “This House would immediately reduce policing budgets significantly (by more than 50%) and reinvest the funding in ways that reduce crime, violence, and injustice." This is the third public debate in RDP's George Floyd Debate Series this summer.

Debaters will include formerly incarcerated RDP fellows and current Swarthmore college debaters. Sides will be determined by coin flip. Judges include esteemed Swarthmore college professors and Peaslee Debate Society alumni. Members of the audience will also vote! view video

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The NYC Program Council and Columbia Law School's Black Law Student Association are hosting a virtual forum for the Manhattan District Attorney candidates.

The candidates for Manhattan District Attorney will share their positions on the future of the District Attorney's office in New York City. This is the first public event where all of the announced candidates will participate. The candidates will answer questions pertaining to alternatives to incarceration, mental health diversion, police accountability, and the role of prosecutors in mass incarceration. The forum comes at a crucial moment as New York City citizens are paying close attention to the criminal legal system. view video

In this engaging evening of persuasive expression, members of The Fortune Society’s Debate Club teamed up with Social Justice Professionals to examine the critical issue of whether or not NY State should continue utilizing a pre-trial detention and cash bail system.

The Fortune Society and The Rikers Debate Project (RDP) have been collaborating since August to host weekly workshops that help Fortune clients learn the art of debate while discussing issues critical to criminal justice system reform.

view highlights

view closing remarks by former state senator Jesse Hamilton

view video of speaker Stanley Richards

view video of speaker Mike Gianaris

view video of speaker Felix Guzman

view video of speaker Deyja

view video of speaker Josh Morrison

Debate on Rikers Island about whether incarcerated people should be allowed to vote. view video