Attica Prison Revolt

Historical Context of Attica

The historical context of the revolt at Attica provided the formative years for the prisoners and correctional staff and government officials involved in the events. During the 1960s, the civil rights and other rights movements (including prisoner rights), protests against the Vietnam War, violent disturbances in America's urban centers and prison riots in New York and other states prior to the events at Attica, and police action against protest and activist organizations (including the Black Panthers and Black Muslims) provided a model for violence for prisoners and for the state. Other instances of violence during this period included the assassinations of Malcolm X, [Page 43]Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, as well as the killings of Black Panther members George Jackson (one of the Soledad Brothers) and Fred Hampton (a Black Panther leader in Chicago). Criminal justice reforms that occurred in the decade before the 5 days of the revolt are also part of the historical context. In addition, a new emphasis on research on all aspects of criminal justice during the decision-making processes from arrest decisions to parole during the 1960s was finding race to be an important factor throughout. Through these events and the understanding of the politics of criminal justice it produced, prisoners were redefining themselves as “political prisoners.”

In New York State, prisoner disturbances and takeovers of correctional facilities in New York City's House of Detention (Tombs) in August 1970 and Auburn Correctional Facility (November 1970) preceded the events at Attica. While these two events did not result in the violent retaking of the institutions seen at Attica, they did add to the tensions and expectations of both prisoners and correctional officials in New York regarding the potential for further prison revolts. Prisoners from Auburn were transferred to Attica and placed in segregation (contrary to correctional officials' promises of no reprisals for those involved in the Auburn protest over the handling of a Black Solidarity Day event).

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