Attica Forgotten

Prison are, almost by their nature, places where people become forgotten, but in September 1971, most of the nation's attention was focused on a prison in upper-state New York. It was the Attica State Penitentary, a maximum security prison. Over one thousand inmates, predominantly African American and Puerto Rican rioted, took hostages, and made a list of demands. They wanted federal takeover of the prison, better conditions, amnesty for the crimes committed during the revolt and the removal of the prison’s superintendent. They didn't get it. The prisoners demands to meet with the governor were ignored. In the morning of September 13th, police helicopters dropped tear gas into the courtyard and within 6 minutes, 2200 lethal missiles were discharged. 43 people were killed. 29 years later, the state of New York would pay $8 million dollars to compensate prisoners for documented harassment and torture. The Attica riot would encompass major themes of the time: racism, civil rights, abuse of power and more.

How many students know about this event today? What questions does it raise about our government? About the use of violence by the state? About the inequalities of the justice system? About the factors influencing crime and poverty in America? About what information goes into textbooks and what gets shuffled away? If the study of history has purpose, then it has to be found in the struggle of ethical choices made today concerning the past. Only in doing so can we create or discover our moral compass and national identity. Today, questions regarding inmates in the 'war on terror' are similar to those asked after Attica. Is torture justified? Are inmates entitled to rights and representation? How do we dispense justice? These are questions that need to be asked... if we don't forget Attica.