Ivan Calaff

[Content warning: mentions of rape, foster care violence, anti-black slur] Ivan Calaff grew up in the South Bronx. He was incarcerated at Rikers for the first time in 1989, and recalls that the smell of unwashed bodies, "of fear, desperation" masked by medicinal cleaning products was what he initially noticed about the island. The constant noise, he says, allowed for "little room to think and to sink into yourself and to concentrate." Calaff likens Rikers to foster care in that that violence was the currency that made it run, and that survival takes precedent over accountability or remorse: "Being your worst possible self is what this place demands." Officers purposefully incited violence, and gangs ran every aspect of daily life, with the exception of moving to and from different areas of Rikers. As he was reincarcerated in later years, he became an "old-timer," facilitating rap battles for youth there as a way to divert their energy away from violence. Calaff contends that Rikers does not exist for rehabilitation's sake, but rather to "degrade" and "maim." He adds that, following these experiences, he doesn't know if the concept of justice truly exists. (Summary written by: Carson Stachura)