Attica Prison riot

Attica Prison Riot
Attica Correctional Facility. A memorial to staff who died in the riot is visible between the flagpoles.
Date September 9 – 13, 1971 Location Attica, New York, U.S. 42°50′59″N 78°16′18″W / 42.84972°N 78.27167°W / 42.84972; -78.27167
Belligerents
Attica inmates	New York State Police New York State Department of Corrections New York Army National Guard
Commanders and leaders
Herbert X. Blyden[a] Frank Lott[a] Peter Butler[a] Donald "Don" Noble[a] Carl Jones-El[a] Frank "Big Black" Smith[b] Richard X. Clark[c] Cleveland McKinley "Jomo" Davis Elliott James "L.D." Barkley	Governor Nelson Rockefeller Commissioner Russell G. Oswald Deputy Commissioner Walter Dunbar Public Information Officer Gerald T. Houlihan Superintendent William Kirwan Deputy Superintendent Karl Pfeil Warden Vincent R. Mancusi Major John Monahan Chief Inspector John C. Miller Lieutenant Joseph P. Christian (GSW)
Strength
1,281 inmates	74 correctional officers[d] 550 state troopers
42 correctional officers and civilian workers taken hostage
Casualties and losses
32 inmates killed[e] 85 inmates wounded[e]	11 correctional officers killed[f] 5 correctional officers wounded during the assault[g] 1 state trooper wounded[h]

The Attica Prison Riot, also known as the Attica Prison Rebellion, Attica Massacre or Attica Prison Uprising, was the bloodiest prison riot in United States history^[1][2] and is one of the best-known and most significant flashpoints of the Prisoners' Rights Movement.^[3][4]

The revolt was based upon prisoners' demands for better living conditions and political rights. On September 9, 1971, 1,281 out of the approximately 2,200 men incarcerated in the Attica Correctional Facility rioted and took control of the prison, taking 42 staff hostage.

During the following four days of negotiations, authorities agreed to 28 of the prisoners' demands,^[5] but would not agree to demands for complete amnesty from criminal prosecution for the prison takeover or for the removal of Attica's superintendent.^[6] By the order of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, state police took back control of the prison. When the uprising was over, at least 43 people were dead, including ten correctional officers and civilian employees, and 33 inmates.

Rockefeller, who refused to meet with the prisoners during the rebellion, stated that the prisoners "carried out the cold-blood killings they had threatened from the outset",^[7] despite the fact that the deaths of only one of the officers and three of the inmates were attributed to the prisoners. New York Times writer Fred Ferretti said the rebellion concluded in "mass deaths that four days of taut negotiations had sought to avert".^[8]

As a result of the riot, a number of changes were made in the New York prison system to satisfy some of the prisoners' demands, reduce tension in the system, and prevent such incidents in the future. Attica remains one the most famous prison riots to have occurred in the United States.^[2][3]

Background[]

The uprising occurred within a larger context of poor prison conditions in the late twentieth century. Historian Howard Zinn wrote of 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."^[9] Overcrowding also contributed to the poor conditions, as in recent years the prison's population had increased from its designed 1,200 prisoners to 2,243.^[10]

Additionally, as in many American prisons, racial disparities existed at Attica. Within the prison population, 54% of the incarcerated men were African American, 9% Puerto Rican, and 37% white.^[11] Meanwhile, depending on the source, either all of the guards^[9] or all but one of the guards^[1] were white. Guards often threw out letters written in Spanish sent to or from Puerto Rican prisoners, and Black prisoners were relegated to the lowest-paid jobs and racially harassed by staff.^[12]

During this time period there was also a growing culture of prisoner activism. The previous year there was an uprising at another New York correctional facility, the Manhattan Detention Complex. Rioters held five guards hostage for eight hours, until state officials agreed to hear prisoner grievances and take no punitive action against the rioters.^[13] Despite that promise, officials had the primary ringleaders shipped upstate to Attica and many spent months in solitary confinement^[14] and were facing criminal charges.^[15] In July 1971, a group of Attica inmates presented a list of 27 demands regarding improving conditions in Attica to Commissioner of Corrections Russell Oswald and Governor Nelson Rockefeller.^[16] The commissioner did not take any actions on the list of demands, and Attica warden Vincent Mancusi responded by adding additional restrictions to inmates' reading materials and personal belongings.^[16] In addition, in August 1971, George Jackson, a member of the Black Panther Party, was shot and killed during an escape attempt at San Quentin State Prison, after killing three guards and two inmates. The death of Jackson is considered by some historians to be a direct cause of the uprising at Attica.^[9][17] The day after Jackson's death, at least 700 Attica inmates participated in a hunger strike in his honor.^[16]

The initial riot[]

On Wednesday, September 8, 1971, an incident occurred that would precipitate the riot the next day. According to Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, an extensively researched account of the uprising by historian Heather Ann Thompson, two inmates scuffled during their recreation break, and a correctional officer came up to intervene.^[18] One inmate had already left the area, but the officer demanded the remaining inmate return to his cell, and in the ensuing argument the inmate hit the officer.^[18] Other inmates and guards joined the commotion, and another inmate also hit the officer, but before things could escalate further, Lieutenant Robert Curtiss moved to cool things down.^[18] Later that evening, warden Vincent Mancusi ordered the two inmates involved in the altercation be taken to solitary confinement, but when the officers arrived at 5 company to take the inmates away, it caused a scene.^[18] The other inmates in 5 company shouted and threw things at the guards and one inmate, William Ortiz, hit an officer with a can of soup, resulting in him being assigned to "keeplock", or confinement to his cell.^[18][19]

The morning of Thursday, September 9, 1971, the still upset 5 Company demanded officers tell them what would become of Ortiz. Officer Gordon Kelsey told them he did not know, and tried to continue the regular routine.^[20] However, as they were heading to breakfast, some inmates managed to open Ortiz's cell door and he left with them to the mess hall.^[19][20] When the command staff found out what had occurred they decided to return all of the men of 5 Company to their cells after breakfast, however, they did not inform all the correctional officers, and when officers lead inmates out toward the recreation area after breakfast, both officers and inmates were surprised to find the doors locked.^[19][20] The inmates believed they were about to punished and a melee broke out, which resulted in chaos as some inmates attacked the guards and others tried to flee.^[20] The chaos spread to other nearby companies of inmates, and the riot began.^[16][19] During the riot, several guards and inmates were injured, and Officer William Quinn would die in the hospital two days later of injuries sustained during the initial riot.^{[5] [16]}

By noon on September 9, correctional officers and police controlled about half the prison and its inmates, while 1,281 of the Attica's approximately 2,200 inmates controlled the other half, including D-yard, two tunnels, and the central control room, referred to as "Times Square".^[20] Inmates held 42 officers and civilian employees hostage.^[21]

Negotiations[]

Once inmates had secured their section of the prison, they began organizing and drafting a list of demands for officials to meet before they would surrender. Inmates elected leaders to represent them in negotiations and appointed inmates to serve as medics and security.^[5][17] For example, Frank "Big Black" Smith was appointed as head of security, and he also kept the hostages and the observers safe.^[22][23] Additionally, an ardent orator, 21-year-old Elliott James "L.D." Barkley, was a strong force during the negotiations, speaking eloquently to the inmates, camera crews, and outsiders at home.^[24] Barkley, just days away from his scheduled release at the time of the uprising, was killed during the recapturing of the prison.^[25]

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 each and every one of us here, have 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 each and every one of you, as well.

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

As speakers like Barkley raised morale, the elected group of negotiators drafted proposals to the commissioner. The Attica Liberation Faction Manifesto of Demands was a compilation of complaints written by the Attica prisoners, which speak directly to the "sincere people of society".^[26] It included 33 demands, including better medical treatment, fair visitation rights, improved food quality, religious freedom, higher wages for inmate jobs, and "an end of physical abuse, for basic necessities like toothbrushes and showers everyday, for professional training, and access to newspapers and books".^[27] The manifesto assigns the power to negotiate to five inmates elected to represent them: Donald Noble, Peter Butler, Frank Lott, Carl Jones-El, and Herbert Blyden X.^[26] Additionally, the document specifically lists out "vile and vicious slave masters" who oppressed the prisoners such as the New York governor, New York corrections, and the United States courts.^[26]

Inmates also requested a team of outside observers to assist with negotiations, many of whom officials were able to persuade to come to Attica. Observers included Tom Wicker, an editor of The New York Times, James Ingram of the Michigan Chronicle, State Senator John Dunne, State Representative Arthur Eve, civil rights lawyer William Kunstler, Clarence Jones, publisher of the Amsterdam News and former advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr., and others.^[6] Prisoners requested the presence of Minister Louis Farrakhan, national representative of the Nation of Islam, but he declined.^[28] Inmates also requested representatives from the Black Panther Party; Bobby Seale addressed the inmates briefly on September 11 but did not stay long and was seen by some as only inflaming tensions.^[6][16]

The prisoners and team of observers continued to negotiate with Commissioner of Corrections Russell Oswald, who agreed to 28 of the inmates' demands, but refused to agree to amnesty for the inmates involved in the uprising or to fire the Attica warden.^[5][6] William Kunstler, a lawyer who agreed to represent the inmates in negotiations, said, "The prisoners had two non-negotiable demands: the removal of the warden, and general amnesty, and they had already given up on the removal of the warden. And on the general amnesty, we had worked out several formulas that we were discussing with the commissioner hours before the attack, and if we had been allowed to continue, everyone would be alive and the matter would be settled today."^[27]

The situation may have been further complicated by Governor Rockefeller's refusal to come to the scene of the uprising and meet with the inmates,^[21] although some later evaluations of the incident would postulate that his absence from the scene actually prevented the situation from deteriorating.^[29] Negotiations broke down, and Oswald was unwilling or unable to make further concessions to the inmates. Oswald and members of the observers committee called Rockefeller and begged him to come to the prison to calm the riot, but he refused.^[5][6][16] Following the governor's refusal, Oswald and Rockefeller agreed that Oswald would order the State Police to retake the facility by force, a decision which was later criticized.^[6][30]

Retaking of the prison and retaliation[]

On the night of Sunday, September 12, 1971, plans were drawn up to retake the prison by force. Members of the team of observers argued for Oswald to deliver to inmates one final appeal for a settlement before the forcible retaking.^[31] Oswald agreed, but was instructed not to phrase the demand as ultimatum, as Rockefeller did not want to let inmates know that the assault was beginning.^[31] At 8:25 a.m. on Monday, September 13, 1971, Oswald gave the inmates a statement directing them to release the hostages and accept the offered settlement within the hour.^[5][31] However, he did not tell them that negotiations had ended and he would take the prison back by force if they refused, even stating, "I want to continue negotiations with you".^[32] The inmates rejected his offer, and as it appeared to them as though Rockefeller remained opposed to their demands the mood among the inmates deteriorated.^[33]

In preparation for prison authorities potentially taking the prison back by force, inmates had dug defensive trenches, electrified metal gates, fashioned crude battlements out of metal tables and dirt, and fortified the "Times Square" prison command center.^[34] After Oswald left following the inmates' rejection of his latest offer, the inmates decided to try to impress upon prison officials that they were serious about their demands, and to remind them that inmates had power over the hostages if the state was to come in by force.^[35] The inmates brought eight corrections officers to the catwalk on top of the command center and surrounded them with inmates armed with homemade weapons. According to surviving inmates, they did not actually intend to kill the hostages, but rather to use them as insurance.^[35] Shortly after inmates and hostages were positioned on the catwalk, Oswald gave the order to begin the retaking. Of the decision, he later said "On a much smaller scale, I think I have some feeling now of how Truman must have felt when he decided to drop the A-bomb".^[6]

At 9:46 a.m. 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, sheriff's deputies, 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.^[36] Additionally, some of the guns utilized by law enforcement used unjacketed bullets, "a kind of ammunition that causes such enormous damage to human flesh that it was banned by the Geneva Conventions".^[37] 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.^[30] 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.^[38] A tenth hostage, Correctional Officer Harrison W. Whalen, died on October 9, 1971, of gunshot wounds received during the assault.^[39]

Inmate survivors alleged that leaders were singled out by troopers during and after the retaking. According to a doctor who treated survivors, "Many of the ringleaders were approached by guards and shot systematically. Some had their hands in the air surrendering. Some were lying on the ground".^[6] One of the leaders, Elliott James "L.D." Barkley, who was frequently featured in news coverage, was allegedly alive after the initial retaking. Assemblyman Arthur Eve testified that Barkley was alive after the prisoners had surrendered and the state regained control; another inmate stated that the officers searched Barkley out, yelling his name, and shot him in the back.^[24][40][41] Sam Melville, a member of the committee that helped organize and draft inmates' demands and who was known in the prison as a radical, was allegedly shot while he had his hands in the air trying to surrender.^[42][43]

The final death toll from the uprising also includes the officer fatally injured by inmates during the initial riot and three inmates who were subjected to vigilante killings by fellow inmates before the retaking. Ten hostages died from gunfire by state troopers and soldiers.^[21][44] The New York State Special Commission on Attica wrote, "With the exception of Indian massacres in the late 19th century, the State Police assault which ended the four-day prison uprising was the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War"^[11] (while mostly accurate, this estimation excludes not only Native American massacres but also the Tulsa Massacre of 1921).^[45]

State officials, including Oswald and Rockefeller, initially made statements that inmates slit the throats of many of their hostages.^[46][47] The false information was widely reported in the media.^[1][46] However, less than 24 hours later medical examiners confirmed that all the hostages had been killed by bullets fired by law enforcement officers.^[46][47][48] The Special Commission found that state officials failed to quickly refute those rumors and false reports.^[30]

These reports set the stage for reprisals by troopers and prison officers. Inmates were made to strip and crawl through mud and broken glass, and then were made to run naked between lines of enraged officers, who beat the inmates and yelled insults and racial slurs.^{[6][12][48][40]} Some inmates, including leaders such as Frank "Big Black" Smith, were subject to additional reprisals and punishments, including repeated physical abuse and being locked in solitary confinement.^{[16][22][42][49]} Several days after the uprising's end, doctors treating wounded inmates reported evidence of more beatings.^[30][50][51]

Public response[]

Memorial in front of the prison to the officers and other prison employees who died in the uprising

Following the uprising, protests and riots occurred in prisons across the United States, including in prisons in New York, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, and Georgia.^[16] According to a Prisoners Solidarity Committee newsletter from September 30, 1971, "The 13 reported rebellions since the Attica massacre doubles the total number of reported prison rebellions since the beginning of this year".^[16] Numerous rallies in support of the prisoners occurred, especially in New York, but also in cities as far away as Los Angeles and Norman, Oklahoma; several rallies in support of Governor Rockefeller also took place.^[13][52] In addition, artists such as John Lennon and activists like Angela Davis wrote works in support of the inmates and condemning the official response.^[52]

At 7:30 p.m. on September 17, the radical left militant organization the Weather Underground launched a retaliatory attack on the New York Department of Corrections, exploding a bomb near Oswald's office, and "The communiqué accompanying the attack called the prison system an example of 'how a society run by white racists maintains its control,' with white supremacy being the 'main question white people have to face.'"^[53]

In response to public criticism, in November 1971 Governor Rockefeller appointed the New York State Special Commission on Attica and named Dean of NYU Law School Robert B. McKay as Chair. Known as the McKay Commission, the commission was directed to investigate the circumstances leading up to, during, and following the events at Attica.^[5] The commission's report, published in September 1972, was critical of Rockefeller, the Department of Corrections, and New York State Police for their handling of the prison retaking and for their negligence in protecting inmates from reprisals after the riot.^[11]

Lawsuits and payments[]

In October 1971, Robert Fischer was appointed as Special Deputy Attorney General to lead the Attica Task Force and was charged with investigating any criminal acts that may have been committed during the uprising or retaking (Fischer was later succeeded as the Attica Task Force leader by Anthony Simonetti).^[5] Within four years of the uprising, 62 inmates had been charged in 42 indictments with 1,289 separate counts. One state trooper was indicted for reckless endangerment.^[5]

In 1975, Malcolm Bell, a prosecutor in the Attica Task Force, sent a report to Governor Hugh Carey alleging that his superiors were covering up evidence of criminal actions by law enforcement officers in the retaking of Attica and preventing him from fully investigating and prosecuting law enforcement.^[54] After Bell's report was leaked to the public, Carey appointed Judge Bernard S. Meyer of the NYS Supreme Court to the post of Special Deputy Attorney General to investigate.^[54] The Meyer Report, released in December 1975, found "There was no intentional cover-up”, but “There were, however, serious errors of judgment” including “important omissions on the part of the State Police in the gathering of evidence”.^[54][55] Initially, only the first of the three volume report was released to the public and in 1981 the State Supreme Court ordered that the other two be sealed permanently.^[56] The Forgotten Victims of Attica, a group made up of officers injured in the riot and families of killed officers, pushed for the State of New York to release state records of the uprising to the public. In 2013, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he would seek release of the entirety of volumes 2 and 3, totaling 350 pages.^[56] After redactions, 46 pages of the report were released in May 2015.^[49] The released pages contain accounts from witnesses and inmates describing torture, burning, and sexual abuse of inmates by prison authorities.^[49][57]

In December 1976, Governor Carey announced he was “closing the book on Attica”, and pardoned all inmates who had previously pleaded guilty to obtain reduced sentences, commuted the sentences of the two inmates convicted in court, and dismissed pending disciplinary actions against 20 law enforcement officers relating to the uprising.^[5]

Though the possibility of criminal suits was closed with Carey's decision, civil suits were allowed to proceed. Surviving inmates and families of inmates killed in the prison retaking sued the State of New York for civil rights violations by law enforcement officers and prison officials during and after the retaking of Attica. After decades in the courts, the state agreed in 2000 to pay $8 million ($12 million minus legal fees) to settle the case.^[42][58] The state separately settled with surviving prison employees and families of the slain prison employees for $12 million in 2005.^[59]

Effects on the New York State prison system[]

Partially in response to the Attica uprising, the New York State Department of Corrections implemented changes including:^[1][60]

1. Providing more basics such as more showers, soap, medical care, and family visits
2. Introducing a grievance procedure in which inmates could report actions by a staff member that violated published policy
3. Creating liaison committees in which inmates elect representatives to speak for them in meetings with prison officials
4. Allocating funding to Prisoners Legal Services, a statewide network of lawyers to assist inmates
5. Providing access to higher education
6. Allowing more religious freedom for inmates

While there were improvements in prison conditions in the years immediately following the uprising, during the War on Drugs and "tough on crime" era of the 1980s and 1990s many of these improvements were reversed.^[61] Overcrowding worsened, with the prison population of New York increasing dramatically from 12,500 at the time of the Attica uprising to 72,600 in 1999.^[1] In 2011, after a man incarcerated in Attica was brutally beaten by guards, for the first time in New York State history, correction officers were criminally charged for a non-sexual assault of an inmate.^[62][63] The guards pleaded guilty in 2015 to a misdemeanor charge of misconduct in order to avoid prison time.^[63] In news stories regarding the incident, current and former inmates of Attica reported that the prison maintained a reputation as "a facility where a small group of correction officers dole out harsh punishment largely with impunity"^[62] and inmates conveyed numerous stories of poor conditions and severe treatment by guards.^[1][63]

In popular culture[]

This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, providing citations to reliable, secondary sources, rather than simply listing appearances. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2021)

Books[]

The first historical account of the Attica Prison Uprising (A Time to Die, 1975) was written by Tom Wicker, a New York Times editor, who was present at the prison as an observer. Another Attica observer, Clarence Jones, released (with Stuart Connelly) his historical account Uprising: Understanding Attica, Revolution and the Incarceration State in 2011. In 1985, Malcolm Bell, a former prosecutor for the Attica Task Force and eventual whistleblower, released his account of the investigation and alleged coverup The Turkey Shoot: Tracking the Attica Cover-up. A detailed historical account of the uprising was published by historian Heather Ann Thompson in 2016. The book, entitled Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, draws on interviews with former inmates, hostages, families of victims, law enforcement, lawyers, and state officials, as well as significant archives of previously unreleased materials.^[28]

Film[]

Direct coverage of the Attica Prison rebellion:

• In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Attica prison massacre in 2021, HBO Max released a documentary titled Betrayal at Attica. The plot is described as: "On September 13, 1971 the State of New York shot and killed 39 of its own citizens, injured hundreds more, and tortured the survivors. The plan to retake D Yard led to one of the bloodiest days in American history, and set the stage for the worst aspects of modern policing. Radical lawyer Elizabeth Fink tells the story of the Attica prison rebellion, and how she exposed the cover up that went on for decades."^[64]
• As part of a 40th anniversary commemoration, filmmakers Chris Christopher and David Marshall, in association with Blue Sky Project, produced a 60-minute, Emmy-nominated documentary called Criminal Injustice: Death and Politics at Attica, first aired on PBS in 2012, which brings together a range of previously unavailable interviewees who deconstruct and expose many myths and misconceptions about the Attica Prison rebellion, its causes, and its coverup.^[40][65] The film's official description reads: "Forty years after the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War, the dead remain buried along with the truth. Until now. Based on interviews with eyewitnesses who just now are telling their stories, as well as access to newly discovered documents, the film sheds new light on exactly what happened at Attica between September 9-13, 1971. Criminal Injustice raises compelling new questions about the 39 deaths at Attica, White House involvement, and the corrupting influence of Nelson Rockefeller’s political aspirations before, during, and long after the deadly retaking of the prison. Former hostage Michael Smith said that 'the cover up started as soon as the shooting stopped.' This film reveals that the truth actually may have been concealed long before that."^[40]
• ScreenSlate describes Cinda Firestone's documentary, titled Attica (1974), as follows: "Firestone's 1974 film, restored in 2007, culls together primary footage from surveillance and news cameras along with prisoner, family, and guard interviews to create an account of the massacre that has been described as temperate, but undeniably damning with respect to the state's actions. As The New Yorker's 1974 review describes it, "Cinda Firestone's quiet picture uses horrifying film footage: shots taken through state troopers' telescopic rifle lenses; musings by inmates which sometimes sputter into anger against a world that finds descriptions of Attica incredible; riot quellers insensibly proud of their skill with weapons, showing off their prowess before the commission of inquiry. …If Attica disturbed our slumber for a mere month or two, one of the qualities of this trumpet call of a film is that it makes the disturbance enduring."^[66]
• At least three fictionalized TV movies of the rebellion have been produced: Attica (1980) directed by Marvin J. Chomsky, with George Grizzard and Morgan Freeman; John Frankenheimer's Against the Wall (1994), with Samuel L. Jackson, Kyle MacLachlan, and Clarence Williams III; and The Killing Yard (2001), directed by Euzhan Palcy, with Alan Alda and Morris Chestnut.

Several other films reference the uprising:

• In the film Half Nelson (2006), one of Dunne's students tells the history of Attica with a brief monologue a half hour into the movie.
• In the film Dog Day Afternoon, (1975), Al Pacino's character, Sonny, who is holding eight bank employees hostage, starts the chant, "Attica! Attica!", at the massed police outside, evoking the excessive police force used in response to the Attica uprising. The chant "Attica! Attica!" has since been parodied or used for comedic effect in many films and television shows. For example, In the film Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, (1994), Leslie Nielsen's character, Frank Drebin, shouts "Attica! Attica!" when he goes undercover in prison. Similarly, in the film Saturday Night Fever (1977), John Travolta's character, Tony Manero, wakes up after a night out at the disco and, while looking at himself in the mirror and seeing a poster of Al Pacino in Serpico (1973), debates whether he resembles Al Pacino. Becoming enamored of the idea, he yells "Al Pacino!" and then opens his bedroom door, walks into the hallway, and chants "Attica! Attica!"

Music[]

The incident is directly referenced in several songs and the name of a band:

• The song "Attica" by English band Spear of Destiny.
• The song "Rubber Bullets" by English band 10cc.^{[citation needed]}
• John Lennon's "Attica State" on his Some Time In New York City album.
• Tom Paxton's "The Hostage", which was included by Judy Collins on her 1973 album True Stories and Other Dreams (1973).
• In the Gil Scott-Heron song, "We Beg Your Pardon", Scott-Heron is critical of Governor Rockefeller's handling of the rebellion, stating that "brother Richard X of Buffalo New York faces 1365 years... behind bars for participating in Attica, and Rockefeller faces being the Vice President of this country".
• Paul Simon's "Virgil", on his album Songs from The Capeman (1997).
• The Attica uprising also inspired the Charles Mingus composition "Remember Rockefeller at Attica", and jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp's composition "Attica Blues" (1972) from his album of the same name.
• Rapper Nas mentioned Attica in his collaboration song with Lauryn Hill, "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)". Nas raps "I'd open every cell in Attica, send 'em to Africa".
• Black Moon's "Powaful Impak!" on the album Enta da Stage the rebellion is mentioned in the lyric "I'm bustin' niggas open, Attica style".
• Frederic Rzewski wrote "Coming together/Attica based on Sam Melville's letters from Attica.
• The Wu Tang Clan's Raekwon mentions the Attica rebellion on "The Hilton" from Ghostface Killah's 2001 Bulletproof Wallets in the lyric "Giants from Attica Riots/Halls is Quiet/CO's with babies on their arms look tight."
• The song Attica by Bahamian artist Exuma.
• The song "Rockefeller Druglaw Blues" by The Felice Brothers references Attica and the protests against the treatment of the prisoners involved in the riot

Poetry[]

• Boxer Muhammad Ali recited a poem during an interview on RTÉ on a visit to Ireland in July 1972, imagining what Attica's prisoners would have said before their death.^[67]
• In 1972, avant-garde composer and pianist Frederic Rzewski wrote two pieces connected to the Attica uprising, both for percussion ensemble and speaker. "Coming Together" sets text by Sam Melville, a leader of the uprising and one of the people who lost their lives as a result of it, from a letter he wrote in 1971. The second and shorter piece, "Attica", is set to the statement made by inmate Richard X. Clark when he was released from the prison: "Attica is in front of me now." The two pieces was recorded in 1973 for the Opus One label by the Blackearth Percussion Group, with Steven ben Israel of the Living Theater as the speaker.^[68]
• The poem "Hadda Be Playing on the Jukebox" by American poet Allen Ginsberg makes a reference to the Attica prison rebellion. This poem was also subsequently performed as a song by political rock band Rage Against the Machine.

Television[]

• In season 7 episode 6 of Archer, Archer exclaims that the SWAT team outside the house is "about to go full-on Attica." This is in reference to the raiding of the prison by police.
• In the season 1 finale of the HBO series Oz, Attica is referenced by unit manager Tim McManus as his hometown and the rebellion as his original impetus for his wanting to set up Emerald City.
• In the final episode of Orange Is the New Black season 4, the prisoners rise up and chant "Attica! Attica!". The entirety of season 5 is devoted to the rebellion itself, which contains significant parallels to the Attica uprising.^[69]
• The Attica Prison uprising served as a source of inspiration for the Bell Riots from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense".^[70]
• In the episode "A Date with the Booty Warrior" of the animated series The Boondocks, the episode's titular character takes Tom hostage with a shank, inciting a prison rebellion. After the convicts had taken the guards hostage, they were deciding what to do next. The other convicts were disgruntled to learn that the Booty Warrior's only demands were "to get some booty". One of the other convicts (voiced by Clifton Powell) remarked "I thought this was supposed to be some Attica-type shit!"
• The chant, "Attica! Attica!" has been used in several television shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,^[71] Drawn Together, Bob's Burgers, Gilmore Girls, SpongeBob SquarePants season 3 episode 18, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mr. Iglesias, The King of Queens, TMNT, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, WCW Monday Nitro, Orange Is the New Black, The Wire, NCIS: New Orleans, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit^[72] and The Good Fight. Variations of the chant were used in Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man ("Sciatica!"), The League ("Gattaca!"), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ("Cattica, Cattica!") and House MD Season 3 Episode 4 "Lines in the Sand".

Podcasts[]

• American Scandal: Season 30 - Attica Prison Uprising. The podcast from Wondery focuses on the Attica prison uprising, its causes and the lasting effects on the American prison system.

^[73]

See also[]

• List of notable prison riots
• We Are Attica: Interviews with Prisoners from Attica (internet archive)
• L.D. Barkley — A leader in the Attica uprising by Monica Moorehead published on February 17, 2021 (internet archive)

Notes[]

References[]

Citations[]

Bibliography[]

• Bandele, Asha (September 9, 2011). "After the Attica Uprising. The history of the massacre at Attica should be used to challenge the continued injustices of mass incarceration". The Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
• Hampton, Henry; Fayer, Steve; Flynn, Sarah, eds. (1990). Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553352320. OCLC 690078672.
• Zinn, Howard. "Surprises". A People's History of the United States: 1492–Present. New ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. 506-539. Print.
• Eyes on the Prize. Dir. Henry Hampton. PBS Video, 1990. Film.
• "Attica Timeline". Attica Is All of Us. N.p., n.d. Web. November 24, 2013. <https://web.archive.org/web/20131219064248/http://atticaisallofus.org/?page_id=506%3E.
• "The Attica Liberation Faction Manifesto of Demands". Race & Class 53.2 (2011): 28–35. Academic Search Complete. Web. November 20, 2013.
• "Episodes from the Attica Rebellion". The Black Scholar 4 (1972): 34-39. JSTOR. Web.
• Criminal Injustice: Death and Politics at Attica. Christine Christopher. Blue Sky Project, 2013.
• Ferretti, Fred. "Like a War Zone". The New York Times September 18, 1971: 1+. ProQuest. Web.
• "41 Dead. Attica: National Tragedy". Milwaukee Star September 18, 1971: 1–2. African American Newspapers, 1827-1998. Web.
• Bell, Malcolm. The Turkey Shoot: Tracking the Attica Cover-up. Grove Press edition, 1985. ISBN 0-394-55020-X.
• Thompson, Heather Ann (August 23, 2016). Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy (Pantheon ed.). New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 9780375423222.

External links[]

• Attica Manifesto presented to Commissioner Oswald and Governor Rockefeller on July 2,1971 by the Attica Liberation Faction
• Five Demands & 15 Practical Proposals delivered to Commissioner Oswald on September 9, 1971
• Interview with Laverne Barkley
• Yahoo! Directory: Attica Riot links
• Attica Prison Riot: Memories strong after 40 years
• Democrat and Chronicle: Attica – A History In Photographs
• Talking History: Attica Revisited
• Photographs taken during and after the prison riot
• "The Truth about Attica by an Inmate", National Review, March 31, 1972
• video interviews with Frank Smith
• Short history on American Experience at PBS.org
• Short history from Eyes on the Prize at PBS.org
• The Attica Prison Uprising on libcom.org—with links to related articles on the prisoners' movement, Black Panthers, Vietnam, etc.
• 40 Years After the Attica Uprising: Looking Back, Moving Forward - Conference website exploring the uprising 40 years later
• How Power Works. Chris Hedges for Truthdig, October 23, 2016.