34TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATTICA REBELLION AND MASSACRE
author: Fleeta Drumgo
Friday September 9th on the 34th anniversary of the 5 day Attica rebellion and massacre. Attica survivor SPLITTING THE SKY will tell his story, as well as Black Panther Elbert Howard who was invited into the prison by the prisoners to help negotiate a settlement.
We will also be showing the buried 1973 Cinda Firestone film, ATTICA.
If you have any questions about the capitalist, imperialist genocide commited legally again and again under the stealth and safety of our fascist and racist constitution and government, the buried history of what happened to the oppressed slaves of Attica is an important place study and understand.
7pm at Vollum Lecture Hall REED College 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd! $2 to $6 sliding scale
|
THE SOUND BEFORE THE FURY OF THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED- L.D. BARKLEY.
On September 9th, 1971, over 1300 prisoners took over a portion of Attica
State Prison, held over 30 hostages and attempted to gain certain civil
liberties over the course of five days. They had tried to protest the
oppressive conditions in all other ways to no avail. During the
occupation, they brought in the media to witness the degradation of
prison life and outside observers to negotiate their demands. On Sept
13th, they were massacred by the state, leaving 39 dead, 150 shot and
1289 tortured.
The Attica Prison revolt was prompted by the influence and by the later
assassination of George Jackson. As a powerful writer and a member of
Black Panther party, Jackson was a man who was idolized by many. Along
with a few others, he played a great role in turning prisoners on to the
true nature of Amerikan racism and fascism. He helped start the prison
movement and brought the knowledge of who the real enemy was to prisoners
of all races. He taught that just as there was institutionalized slavery
400 years ago, that same slavery existed in the present-day prison
system.
On May 12th, 1971, the prisoners of Attica sent a manifesto of 30 demands
to Commissioner Oswald. In July, another, more focused letter was sent
and signed by five inmates. It was eight pages long and demanded
satisfaction on 27 separate items. It stated, "These items are being
presented to you. There is no strike of any kind to protest for these
demands. We are trying to do this in a democratic fashion. We feel there
is no need to dramatize our demands." These were not crazy demands
either. They asked for better food as the prisoners were fed on only 67
cents a day. They wanted better medical care than the two doctors that
could only be seen two hours a day, five days a week. Also, one of the
doctors is quoted as saying, "They're animals." They also demanded
better pay since they only received an average of 40 cents per day after
ten-hour shifts in a 105 degree metal shop. Additional demands included
religious freedom and no censorship of mail. The point is that the
prisoners' complaints were valid and their demands were not unreasonable.
Oswald later agreed to 13 of the 27 demands but only after the rebellion
had began.
On August 21st of 1971, George Jackson was murdered in San Quentin during
what we now know to be a COINTELPRO planned escape attempt. When he was
murdered, almost the entire prison population of Attica quickly organized
a day of silence and fasting. This unification terrified the guards and
empowered the prisoners because they saw that if they could get together
for this, they could get together for other things as well. Then, on
September 9th, guards stopped what they thought was a fight but was
really a football game. The violence from the guards inflicted on a
black inmate was too much and this inmate punched the guard back. This
sort of retaliation by inmates was unheard of because it usually resulted
in the inmate's murder. But this time, others joined in and the inmates
took control of D-Yard, known to the inmates as Times Square.
The blatant racism that was present in the running of Attica State Prison
also helped fuel the riot. 60 percent of the inmates of Attica were
African-Amerikan. However, none of the guards were. Every last one of
the guards was white. In fact, most of the nearby town that thrived off
the prison was very, very white. In reading several statements made
during the occupation by townspeople as well as prison officials, we can
see that racism was ever-present in Attica. The mayor's wife is quoted
as saying, "the colored boys cause all the problems." It is also noted
and can be seen in news footage that the observers' committee, whenever
interviewed by the press outside the prison, was taunted by the
townspeople and repeatedly called "nigger lovers." A guard coming out of
Attica after the massacre stated, "Now THAT'S white power," referring to
the killing of 39 people and the shooting of 150. Before going into the
yard, troopers were told to only shoot at the blacks since all the
hostages were white.
As the inmates gained control of the yard, all the prisoners revolting in
different sections tried to scramble to Times Square. The guards
attempted to stop them and, in one case, as told by Attica survivor,
Splitting the Sky, "60 inmates pushed and pulled on this iron gate. 60
men ripped it from its foundation." Debris from the crumbling stone fell
down on a guard who was guarding the gate in an attempt to try to prevent
the prisoners from getting to D-Yard. This is important because this
guard died and the inmates feared they would all be charged with murder.
This is why the inmates demanded amnesty which was never given. This
also was a big reason why the rebellion ended the way it did.
During the inmate occupation of Times Square, the prisoners held
elections and set up an elaborate P.A. system so all the prisoners could
hear. They would not move unless they all agreed. They slept on the
ground while the hostages slept on mattresses. The hostages were given
what little medication there was while the prisoners went without. It is
well documented that they were treated well and protected by appointed
inmate-guards from harm by other inmates. It is also true that on the
5th day, after still no progress was made on the issue of amnesty, the
prisoners did take some hostages out on the catwalk with homemade knives
to their throats. However, this was only after the water was shut off.
Here is a very important thing to know about Attica. Nine hostages were
killed during the rebellion but no hostage was killed by an inmate!
On the morning of the 4th day, prison officials leaked stories to the
press that hostages were having their throats slashed and that one was
even castrated. Many forms of news media ran with the slashing story,
but on the 5th day, after autopsies were done, it was discovered that all
nine of the hostages had died from gun shot wounds. None of them had
been slashed or castrated.
As stated before, 39 people were murdered during the police raid of
Attica. Many inmates tell stories of being put in little cells with
guns to their heads. Once it was determined that they were not leaders of
the rebellion, they were not killed. Others occounts speak of hearing shots
through the night.There were several individual accounts to verify this.During
the raid, 4500 rounds of ammunition were fired, 150 people were shot and all
were tortured in various nasty ways. It was the bloodiest
one-day encounter between Americans in the 20th century.
|
add a comment on this article
add a comment on this article
|
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
So, yes, my friends... even the US Constitution says that slavery is ok. Remember, this amendment was passed following the Civil War and was supposed to end slavery; however, it gave the green light for slavery to continue in its present form (most notably, the prison system).
I recently went to a conference at Syracuse University called State your Reaction to State Oppression and one of the main topics was the current system of slavery in the US.
And, Attica? Well, that prison is still in full operation. A truly sad sight to see when you pass it on the train.
www.nodeathpenalty.org/index.html
www.anarchistblackcross.org/
www.freethefive.org
www.thejerichomovement.com/pows.html
web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAMR510451996
www.ccr-ny.org/v2/home.asp
"...42.5% of prisoners in maximum security facilities were beaten at least
once a month..." - read more here:
www.historiansagainstwar.org/resources/torture/brucefranklin.html
www.engaged-zen.org/links.html
www.criticalresistance.org/