On June 6, 2015, 22-year-old Kalief Browder died by suicide. Browder had been held for three years – from ages 16 to 19 – at New York City’s Rikers Island prison, with two of those years spent in solitary confinement. During his time in Rikers, he suffered physical, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of other inmates and guards. When the city dropped his case and he was released, he was left with years of trauma. 

While he spent years in prison, he was never actually convicted – Browder was jailed awaiting trial because he couldn’t afford bail. He was in solitary confinement because Black inmates are seven times as likely to receive such treatment. This happened to Kalief Browder because, as a young Black man in America, he faced a presumption of guilt.

Browder’s death sparked cultural and structural changes. Described as the Kalief Browder effect, the press has shifted its attention toward wrongful incarceration, mindsets are changing about pretrial detention and cash bail, and judges have started looking to alternatives – all without policy or legislative changes at the state and federal levels.

At the local level, specifically in New York City, Kalief Browder’s tragedy called attention to the racist and inhumane treatment of incarcerated people on Rikers Island. His death sparked a number of changes, including the end of solitary confinement for those aged 21 and younger. With research showing the use of isolation only begets further violence, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has decreased its overall use by nearly 90 percent.

Browder’s death shined a light on the deeply harmful practice of cash bail – a practice that draws comparisons to slavery given it disproportionately affects people of color and entails literally having to pay for freedom. In New York City, there has been progress, including the creation of a support program for relatives to navigate the system and a program that provides bail for those who cannot afford it themselves.

Finally, Kalief Browder’s suicide led to a grassroots movement to shut down Rikers Island, which the city is in the process of seeing through. As of 2019, it's still an ongoing process, and the city and residents are having to reckon and learn from what shutting down Rikers could mean, and how to do it in a way that is fair, just, and doesn't cause more harm. As part of this shutdown, the mayor’s office has dedicated time and resources to better training, transparency, and treatment within the city’s prison system.

And I'm not trying to make his death more palatable. Kalief Browder should not have died. If America’s criminal justice system weren’t built on centuries of white supremacy and punitive practices, his death would not have happened. New York City has made steps in the right direction but has a long way to go. I created this collection to honor him, to highlight the reforms that have happened after his death, and to make sure his name and story are not forgotten.