34th Anniversary Of Attica Rebellion And Massacre

[Jahness]

34TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATTICA
REBELLION AND MASSACRE

34TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATTICA REBELLION AND MASSACRE


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.


"Oh, it´s pretty much public knowledge: They beat, whipped, clubbed -
on
top of the tear gas men who were there - including men on stretchers,
men lying down. If a guy raised his head a little bit that was an
invitation to get a club over the head. If you moved your finger, you
got a finger whack.
Well, this has all been stated in open court. It wasn´t refuted. Judge
Curtin said "I assume beatings took place of that kind..."--herman
swartz

http://deepdish.igc.org/lockdown/attica/attica2.html


34TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATTICA REBELLION AND MASSACRE


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.

...

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


see also:

30 Years After the Attica Rebellion:

Freedom Archives releases a new 29-minute documentary about the origins
of the modern anti-prison movement

Listen to Program (To Play: click once. Note: large 26.5 MB mp3 file -
downloads to memory before playing).

http://www.prisonactivist.org/blacka...sideSept.shtml

To Download: in Windows, right-click and save to disk; Mac users click
and hold, Download Link to Disk. Note: same large 26.5 MB mp3 file -
saves to disk for play any time.

September 2001 marks the 30th anniversary of the Attica Rebellion in
New
York. This massive prison takeover by hundreds of inmates and the
callous repression and murders by the state of New York are part of a
unique moment in US history.

Who were the Attica Brothers?
Why did they seize control of the prison?
What makes Attica important to the anti-prison movement today?

http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/43505.php

http://www.prisonactivist.org/blacka...sideSept.shtml


and

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/09/324044.shtml

and


http://www.socialistworker.org/2001/...1_Attica.shtml

http://www.prisonactivist.org/blacka...sideSept.shtml


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drumbeat-weekend_edition/



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