The Attica Prison Riots

"We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe" 

- Frantz Fanon 

Among the prisoners, Attica was notorious for its terrible and inhumane living conditions. Historian and left-wing activist, Howard Zinn wrote the following about the conditions in Attica prior to the uprising, 

“Prisoners spent 14 to 16 hours a day in their cells, their mail was read, their reading material restricted, their visits from families conducted through a mesh screen, their medical care disgraceful, their parole system inequitable, racism everywhere.” 

Overcrowding was also a major problem in the facility, as in recent years the prison's population had increased from the 1,200 prisoners for which it was designed to 2,243.  

In addition to that, its Black and Latino majority faced constant racial verbal and physical abuse. Within the prison population, 54% of the incarcerated men were African American, 9% of them were Puerto Rican, and 37% of them were white. All the guards were white, and some were members of white supremacist hate groups. Guards often threw out letters written in Spanish sent to or from Puerto Rican prisoners and prohibited Muslim religious services. They even punished white prisoners for fraternising with non-white prisoners. Prisoners were allowed one shower a week and one toilet roll a month 

Racist treatment by prison guards fuelled prisoners' anger. Ongoing cultural movements of the time, such as the Black Power Movement and New Left, helped prisoners to understand and critique the conditions of their imprisonment. 

In August 1971, George Jackson, an author and prominent member of the Black Panther Party, was shot and killed during an escape attempt in which three prison guards and two white inmates were murdered at San Quentin State Prison in California. Through his writings, Jackson had encouraged imprisoned people throughout the United States to become politically active. As a result, Jackson became one of the first targets of the FBI's Black Extremist Activities in Penal institutions program, which later evolved into the Prison Activists Surveillance Program (PRISACTS). Many incarcerated people in Attica had read Jackson's books and cited Jackson's death as a major catalyst for the riot. The day after Jackson's death, at least 700 Attica inmates participated in a hunger strike in his honour. 

Frank "Big Black" Smith, Herbert X. Blyden, Elliott James "L.D." Barkley were among those imprisoned at Attica. They felt people shouldn’t be stripped of their rights to health and dignity upon being sentenced. Instead, resources should go towards meeting peoples basic needs to prevent crime in the first places.  

In the summer of 1970, Blyden co-founded the Attica Liberation Faction of which the group complied a manifesto and petitioned to Corrections Commissioner Russel Oswald and Governor Nelson Rockefeller for better treatment. Though ignored, they continued organising and fighting in hopes change might arrive one day. 

September 9, 1971, The Attica Rebellion began.  

Officers led inmates out toward the recreation area after breakfast, both officers and inmates were surprised to find the doors locked which was highly unusual as the prisoners had leisure time before heading off to their assigned duties. The inmates believed they were about to be punished and a melee broke out, which resulted in chaos as some inmates attacked the guards and others tried to flee. The chaos spread to other nearby companies of inmates, and the uprising began. During this stage, several guards and inmates were injured. Officer William Quinn would die in the hospital two days later of injuries sustained during the initial riot. 

Soon, over 1,200 prisoners had assembled in the yard with 42 hostages demanding change and once inmates had secured their section of the prison, they began organizing. Inmates elected leaders to represent them in negotiations, appointed inmates to serve as medics and security, and began drafting a list of demands for officials to meet before they would surrender. For example, Smith was appointed as head of security, and he kept both the hostages and the observers committee safe. Additionally, Barkley, was a strong force during the negotiations. He spoke eloquently to the inmates, journalist camera crews, and viewers at home. Barkley, just days away from his scheduled release at the time of the uprising, was killed during the recapturing of the prison. 

“We are men! We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten or driven as such. The entire prison populace, that means every one of us here, has set forth to change forever the ruthless brutalization and disregard for the lives of the prisoners here and throughout the United States. What has happened here is but the sound before the fury of those who are oppressed. We will not compromise on any terms except those terms that are agreeable to us. We've called upon all the conscientious citizens of America to assist us in putting an end to this situation that threatens the lives of not only us but of every one of you, as well”. 

— Declaration to the People of America, Read by Elliott James "L.D." Barkley, September 9, 1971 

They promised all remaining hostages would be safe if they were given amnesty for the crimes committed during the uprising. Commissioner Oswald agreed to meet several demands however refused to guarantee amnesty. The inmates brought eight corrections officers to the catwalk on top of the command centre and surrounded them with inmates armed with homemade weapons. According to surviving inmates, they did not intend to kill the hostages, but rather to use them as insurance. Shortly after inmates and hostages were positioned on the catwalk, Oswald gave the order to begin the retaking. 

On Monday, September 13, 1971, tear gas was dropped into the yard and hundreds of New York State Police troopers, Bureau of Criminal Investigation personnel, deputy sheriffs, park police, and correctional officers opened fire into the smoke. Among the weapons used by the troopers were shotguns loaded with buckshot pellets, which led to the wounding and killing of hostages and inmates who were not resisting. Correctional officers from Attica were allowed to participate, a decision later called "inexcusable" by the commission established by Rockefeller to study the riot and the aftermath. By the time the facility was reported as fully secured at 10:05 a.m., law enforcement had shot at least 128 men and killed nine hostages and twenty-nine inmates. The ninth hostage, Correctional Officer Harrison W. Whalen, died on October 9, 1971, of gunshot wounds received during the assault. 

Troopers and prison officers set about with physically violent and humiliating reprisals. Inmates were made to strip naked and crawl through mud, broken glass, and the prisoners' hand-dug latrines. State officials also subjected the prisoners to sexual violence and rape. Directed into the prison, they were forced to run hallways naked between lines of enraged officers, who beat the inmates and yelled insults and racial slurs. Some inmates, including leaders such as Frank Smith, were subject to additional reprisals and punishments, including repeated physical abuse and being locked in solitary confinement.  Several days after the uprising's end, doctors treating wounded inmates reported evidence of more beatings.  

President Nixon congratulated Rockefeller and told his chief of staff that the way to stop ‘radicals’ was to ‘kill a few’. But autopsies soon confirmed that the prisoners hadn’t killed any guards during the attack as threatened. Government force had.  

Those who survived the massacre continued to fight for revolutionary change. Long after release, Smith and Blyden campaigned for social justice and prison abolition. The demands made in Attica remain at the core of ongoing protests- Within and beyond prison walls.  

Frank "Big Black" Smith (1933-2004) 

Herbert X. Blyden (1936-1997) 

Elliott James "L.D." Barkley (1950-1971) 

Sources: 

https://www.atticaisallofus.org/history 

https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/21/archives/slain-attica-leader-is-eulogized.html 

https://iacenter.org/2021/02/18/l-d-barkley-a-leader-in-the-attica-uprising/ 

https://time.com/archive/6839635/the-law-a-prisoner-of-our-time/ 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Attica-prison-revolt  

Daya Sangha