Attica Prison riots
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The 'Attica Prison riots' were general prison uprisings that occurred at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, United States, on September 9, 1971. The four-day revolt ended when over 1,000 New York state police and correction officers stormed the facility. Over 40 people died, including 11 of the 39 hostages. The prisoners had demanded better living conditions, showers, education, and vocational training.
Media reports claimed that inmate hostage-takers slit the throats of many of their hostages, reports that contradicted official medical evidence. Newspaper headlines made statements such as "I Saw Slit Throats," implying that prisoners had cut the hostages' throats when the armed raid occurred. These "reports" were later found to be fictitious. All but one of the hostages killed were shot by state troopers or correction officers. The Attica riots were notable in that they directed national media attention to the condition of prisons in the United States during the 1960s and early 1970s. The riots also revealed for the first time how American prison systems operated in regard to race issues, as many of the prison guards were seen as bigots.
The State of New York settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the families of the slain inmates 27 years after the riot. The State of New York finally recognized the families of the slain prison employees in the Fall of 2004 with an 12 million dollar financial settlement.
Racial Issues
Many people attribute the cause of the riot to the racial issues inside of the prison at the time. Of the approximately 2,300 inmates, 75-85% of the inmates were African American or Puerto Rican, however all of the 383 correctional officers were white. From reports on the prison conditions, the guards were openly racist assaulting the prisoners with their Batons which they dubbed as "Nigger Sticks." During this time period Black Militancy was at its peak and several prisons had their Black Militants transferred to Attica. At the same time, Black Panther George Jackson died at the hands of white prison guards only a few days before the riot in the San Quentin State Prison in California adding to the racial tension. Overall, this riot was shocking in how it exposed the racism of the prison system as Attica was a northern prison which many felt would be free of racism. The aftermath of the riot called for prison reform especially in the treatment of minority inmates who were becoming a majority in several state correctional facilities across America.
Cultural references
The incident is directly referenced in at least two songs: John Lennon's Attica State on his Some Time In New York City album, and Tom Paxton's "The Hostage", which was told from the perspective of one of the prison guards. The Paxton song was made famous by Judy Collins, who included it on her 1973 album True Stories and Other Dreams. The Attica riots were also said to have inspired both the 10cc song Rubber Bullets and the Charles Mingus composition Remember Rockefeller at Attica.
The 1972 album Attica Blues by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp and its title track are a direct reference to the incident.
Composer Frederic Rzewski wrote two pieces, Coming Together/Attica (1972), that set excerpts from a letter by Sam Melville, one of the prisoners killed in the riots.
Attica State, Alen Pol Kobryn’s verse/construct/performance piece, first presented on WBAI in New York City, has the riots as its central thematic reference.
In the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino's character, Sonny, who is holding eight bank employees hostage, starts a chant of "ATTICA! ATTICA!" at the massed police outside. The crowd gathered begins to cheer. This reference has itself been referenced a number of times in popular culture, by Saturday Night Fever, Spongebob Squarepants and WCW Monday Nitro, among others.
The 1994 TV Movie Against the Wall, starring Samuel L. Jackson, relates the events of the riots.