Kalief Browder has been honored with a street named after him in his hometown in the Bronx.
The northwest corner of E. 181st St. and Prospect Ave. has been renamed “Kalief Browder Way,” with the street sign being unveiled Tuesday (May 23) morning, which is also Browder’s birthday. Council members, as well as members of the Browder family, were in attendance.
Browder’s tragic story of being sent to Rikers Island as a teenager for a crime he never committed, which ultimately led to him taking his own life following his release from the dangerous prison became on the public radar once again in 2016 after Jay Z, in partnership with The Weinstein Company, produced a documentary series called Time: The Kalief Browder Story. The timely documentary focused on Browder’s life both before and after his time at Rikers and ultimately helped lead to the upcoming closing of the notorious prison.
“Kalief Browder is a modern-day prophet; his story a failure of the judicial process,” Jay Z said during a press conference about the film. “A young man, and I emphasize young man, who lost his life because of a broken system. His tragedy has brought atrocities to light and now we must confront the issues and events that occurred so other young men can have a chance at justice.”
Browder’s brothers, Akeem and Deion, have also played a significant part in keeping Browder’s legacy alive encouraging criminal justice reform throughout the city.
Check out a video of the Kalief Browder Way unveiling below.
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