Race/Related: The Story Behind James Brown’s Rikers Island Show

How did the Godfather of Soul wind up playing for an audience of youths at one of New York’s most notorious jails? [View in browser](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP4QoAWh0dHBzOi8vbWVzc2FnaW5nLWN1c3RvbS1uZXdzbGV0dGVycy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS90ZW1wbGF0ZS9vYWt2Mj9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zNyZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ycl8yMDIyMDMxOSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD01NjEzNiZubD1yYWNlJTJGcmVsYXRlZCZwcm9kdWN0Q29kZT1SUiZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9ODU5OTUmdGU9MSZ1cmk9bnl0JTNBJTJGJTJGbmV3c2xldHRlciUyRmJiYTZlMzYwLWExNDMtNWEyMy1iNzcwLTZlZDQzMWQ5MDY5YyZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmIq4Lc1YjaUg-FSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~)|[nytimes.com](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0SwaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA)[Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-ad-marquee) ~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0RtaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MjA3NTgwJmxpPVJSJm09YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDcmcD1SUl8yMDIyMDMxOVcDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ [More Race/Related](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0S-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vc3BvdGxpZ2h0L3JhY2U_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzcmZW1jPWVkaXRfcnJfMjAyMjAzMTkmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NTYxMzYmbmw9cmFjZSUyRnJlbGF0ZWQmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTg1OTk1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) March 19, 2022 James Brown onstage at Rikers Island in March 1972. The musician played two sets for the young people held at the jail, because the room wasn’t big enough to hold the full crowd.Diana Mara Henry How James Brown Took an Unlikely Stage By Billy Heller James Brown proudly called Augusta, Ga., his [home](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TuaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAwNi8xMi8zMS91cy9hdWd1c3Rhcy10dXJuLXRvLXNheS1nb29kYnllLXRvLWphbWVzLWJyb3duLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzcmZW1jPWVkaXRfcnJfMjAyMjAzMTkmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NTYxMzYmbmw9cmFjZSUyRnJlbGF0ZWQmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTg1OTk1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~). When it came to performing, the Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem, where he recorded his 1963 breakthrough album “Live at the Apollo,” was his home away from home. But 50 years ago this week, he played at another New York City institution with a lot less fanfare. On March 16, 1972, Brown headed to Rikers Island with his full revue to entertain, advise and encourage hundreds of detained 16-to-20-year-olds, most being held at the jail while awaiting trial. “‘The inmates asked us to come to Rikers, and we’re going!’” he said in a statement at the time. The reception was electric: “The kids at Rikers went absolutely wild,” said John Brickman, who attended the concert when he was executive director of the New York City Board of Correction. “They were screaming, they were yelling.” The roar reminded him of crowd reaction he’d heard on Johnny Cash’s live “At Folsom Prison” album, he said. The story of Brown’s Rikers show has largely gone untold for the past five decades. So how did the Godfather of Soul wind up playing for an audience of youths at one of New York’s most notorious jails? The story begins with Brown’s concern over the scourge of drugs in America’s cities and involves an employee of the Board of Correction who knitted her way into the legendary singer’s attention. Brown, himself, had a brush with the law when he was a teen. “He was in prison as a kid,” Alan Leeds, Brown’s tour manager at the time, said in an interview, referring to Brown’s conviction at 16 for breaking into cars. “He could relate to the unfairness in the justice system and the conditions in our prisons.” [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-0) ADVERTISEMENT ~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0RtaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MTc0MTQ5JmxpPVJSJm09YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDcmcD1SUl8yMDIyMDMxOVcDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ Social consciousness became a part of Brown’s music starting in 1966 with [“Don’t Be a Dropout,”](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TDaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzcmZW1jPWVkaXRfcnJfMjAyMjAzMTkmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NTYxMzYmbmw9cmFjZSUyRnJlbGF0ZWQmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTg1OTk1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZ2PUFhaGV6VDY2TU1VVwNueXRCCmIq4Lc1YjaUg-FSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) which encouraged children to stay in school. In 1968 he released a funk anthem that would become a signature: [“Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud,”](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TDaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzcmZW1jPWVkaXRfcnJfMjAyMjAzMTkmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NTYxMzYmbmw9cmFjZSUyRnJlbGF0ZWQmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTg1OTk1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZ2PTVPa01VZGkwNmJnVwNueXRCCmIq4Lc1YjaUg-FSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) a firm rebuke of racism and an enthusiastic call for Black empowerment. Later, he turned his attention to the drug crisis plaguing young people in cities, using his fame to speak out against the dangers of heroin. (While Brown was not known to use heroin, he struggled with other drugs, and was later [sentenced to prison](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0T7aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMTk4OC8xMi8xNi91cy9zaW5nZXItamFtZXMtYnJvd24tcmVjZWl2ZXMtNi15ZWFyLXNlbnRlbmNlLWluLWNhci1jaGFzZS5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) for a 1988 incident involving PCP; he pleaded [no contest](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0T3aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAwNC8wNi8xNS91cy9uYXRpb25hbC1icmllZmluZy1zb3V0aC1zb3V0aC1jYXJvbGluYS1zaW5nZXItcy1jYXNlLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzcmZW1jPWVkaXRfcnJfMjAyMjAzMTkmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NTYxMzYmbmw9cmFjZSUyRnJlbGF0ZWQmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTg1OTk1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) to a domestic violence charge in 2004.) Brown’s “King Heroin” arrived in March 1972. The song — which originated as a poem by Manny Rosen, a former Rikers detainee who showed it to Brown one day at the Stage Deli, where he worked — told the devastating story of heroin’s effect on users from the point of view of the drug itself. “I can make a mere schoolboy forget his books/I can make a world-famous beauty neglect her looks,” Brown spoke on the track. “Some think my adventure’s a joy and a thrill/But I’ll put a gun to your head and make you kill.” “He was very adamant in his feelings about drug abuse, how heroin had ravaged the Black community” Leeds said. More than half of the young detainees at the Adolescent Remand Shelter on Rikers Island were confined for drug-related crimes, William vanden Heuvel, chairman of the New York City Board of Correction, said in the statement announcing Brown’s appearance there. [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-1) ADVERTISEMENT ~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0RtaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MjA3NTc3JmxpPVJSJm09YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDcmcD1SUl8yMDIyMDMxOVcDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ Conditions at the jail [then](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TyaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMTk3Mi8wMi8yOS9hcmNoaXZlcy9yaWtlcnMtaXNsYW5kLXByaXNvbi1rbm93bi1hcy1tb25zdHJvc2l0eS5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA), as [they are now](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TtaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMS8xMC8xMS9ueXJlZ2lvbi9yaWtlcnMtZGV0YWluZWVzLWNvcnJlY3Rpb24tb2ZmaWNlcnMuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zNyZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ycl8yMDIyMDMxOSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD01NjEzNiZubD1yYWNlJTJGcmVsYXRlZCZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9ODU5OTUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmIq4Lc1YjaUg-FSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~), were dangerous. “They packed them in there like animals,” Roy Caldwood, 99, a retired correction officer who worked at Rikers, said in an interview. He noted there was no private place for detainees to bathe, or a proper place for them to eat. “If they were animals, the ASPCA would have shut the damn place down.” In early 1972, Rikers was [rocked by a riot](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP4QDAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm55dGltZXMuY29tLzE5NzIvMDMvMTUvYXJjaGl2ZXMvMTIteW91bmctbWVuLWluZGljdGVkLWluLXJpb3QtYXQtcmlrZXJzLWlzbGFuZC1qYWlsLWZlYi0yNy5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA), and Caldwood and four other officers were taken hostage. The violence resulted in injuries to 20 guards and 75 inmates. “That is our situation. We’re trying to keep the lid on the pressure cooker and this lady comes and offers us James Brown,” Caldwood said. The lady was Gloria Bond, who worked with vanden Heuvel at the Board of Correction, a civilian oversight agency that kept an eye on the correction system. [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-2) ADVERTISEMENT ~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0RtaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9NzI4Njk5JmxpPVJSJm09YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDcmcD1SUl8yMDIyMDMxOVcDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ “The Board of Correction was always trying to come up with good things to help the people in the jail and makes sure they were being taken care of the right way,” said Bond’s daughter, Anna, who was a television news reporter in New York starting in 1973. (She spoke on behalf of her mother, who is now 96.) The agency had previously brought in Coretta Scott King to speak with the detainees, along with Harry Belafonte, who also gave a show. Gloria Bond suggested Brown could play a Rikers concert, contacted his manager, Charles Bobbit, and went to see him at Brown’s Midtown Manhattan office. When her mother explained what she wanted, “Basically, his reaction was ‘What, are you kidding me?’” Anna Bond said. She said Bobbit told Gloria that Brown hardly ever came to the office. But that did not deter her. Read the rest of the story [here](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TkaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wMy8xNS9hcnRzL211c2ljL2phbWVzLWJyb3duLXJpa2Vycy1pc2xhbmQuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zNyZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ycl8yMDIyMDMxOSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD01NjEzNiZubD1yYWNlJTJGcmVsYXRlZCZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9ODU5OTUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmIq4Lc1YjaUg-FSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~). EDITOR’S PICKS We publish many articles that touch on race. Here are a few you shouldn’t miss. 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By Tammy La Gorce](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TgaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wMy8xOC9ueXJlZ2lvbi9vbmktYW5kLXVjaGUtYmxhY2tzdG9jay5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) [[Article Image] Evan Jenkins for The New York Times](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TpaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wMy8xOC9idXNpbmVzcy9zdGF0ZS1mYXJtLWZyYXVkLWJsYWNrLWN1c3RvbWVycy5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) [Where State Farm Sees ‘a Lot of Fraud,’ Black Customers See Discrimination The giant insurer is facing lawsuits from customers, agents and former employees accusing it of racial discrimination. By Emily Flitter](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TpaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wMy8xOC9idXNpbmVzcy9zdGF0ZS1mYXJtLWZyYXVkLWJsYWNrLWN1c3RvbWVycy5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM3JmVtYz1lZGl0X3JyXzIwMjIwMzE5Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTU2MTM2Jm5sPXJhY2UlMkZyZWxhdGVkJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD04NTk5NSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYirgtzViNpSD4VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) [[Article Image] Francesca Tamse](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRkGDzgP0TfaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wMy8xNy90LW1hZ2F6aW5lL3dvb2R5LWRlLW90aGVsbG8tYXJ0Lmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzcmZW1jPWVkaXRfcnJfMjAyMjAzMTkmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NTYxMzYmbmw9cmFjZSUyRnJlbGF0ZWQmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTg1OTk1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpiKuC3NWI2lIPhUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) [Artist’s Questionnaire Woody De Othello’s Extraordinary Monuments to the Mundane Ahead of his inclusion in this year’s Whitney Biennial, the emerging sculptor reflects on the spiritual power of domestic spaces. 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