Attica Prison Rebellion
Featured Content
On September 9, 1971, 1289 prisoners at Attica Penitentiary in New York, rose up, took 38 guards hostage, and seized D-Yard and D-Block. For four days the Black, Latino, Native American, and white prisoners formed a united front and took control of their own lives while trying to negotiate with Commissioner Russell Oswald in an effort to eliminate the inhuman, brutal conditions in the prison.Commissioner Oswald acknowledged the 28 demands made by the prisoners but refused to grant them amnesty. On the fifth day, September 13, 1971, the Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller--who had refused to visit Attica and take part in negotiations--ordered an invasion that resulted in the murder of 43 men--prisoners and hostages--by the New York State Troopers.
While awaiting trial, prisoners involved in the rebellion were either sent to a different prison or remained at Attica and were brutally beaten and tortured by prison guards. 80 of the alleged leaders in the rebellion were held in 24 hour solitary confinement. After 15 months of investigating the rebellion and massacre, the Special Attica Grand Jury returned 37 sealed indictments against 60 Attica Brothers--46 of them Black, 8 White, 5 Latino, and 1 Native American. The indicted brothers were charged with alleged crimes committed during the rebellion. These 60 Attica Brothers faced over 1300 felony accusations and a combined 60,000 years imprisonment from racked up charges ranging from possession of a prison key to murder. No prison employees or officials of the state were indicted for their crimes on September 13, 1971.
This collection contains extensive audio resources from which our CD documentary The Attica Rebellion is derived. It also includes the video Attica is All of Us. The robust audio resources are complemented by paper documents focusing on the rebellion, its causes, and its aftermath. With recent additions to the collection, we are able to present the history of the Attica Rebellion through the perspectives the Attica Brothers, their families, and supporters. It now contains the narratives of the Attica Brothers in their attempt to seek truth and justice in the aftermath of the rebellion.