a viewing & discussion of open wounds: the 50-year legacy of the attica prison uprising, the traveling new york state museum exhibit @ the seymour student union gallery, tuesday 14 september 2021, 5-7pm—exhibit on display at the gallery monday-wednesday, 13-15 september 2021.
Don’t miss the New York State Museum’s traveling exhibition “Open Wounds: The 50-Year Legacy of the Attica Prison Uprising” on display Monday-Wednesday, September 13-15, in Seymour Student Union Gallery. A special exhibition viewing and discussion will take place Tuesday, September 14, 5-7 pm with Will Walker, Joey Jackson Intercultural Center Coordinator, and Dr. Michael J. Kramer, Assistant Professor of History, SUNY Brockport.
“WE ARE MEN! WE ARE NOT BEASTS AND WE DO NOT INTEND TO BE BEATEN OR DRIVEN AS SUCH.” – L. D. BARKLEY, SPOKESMAN OF THE ATTICA UPRISING, 1971
In September 1971, incarcerated men at the Attica State Correctional Facility found themselves in a standoff against New York State. Conditions at the prison were deplorable and dehumanizing: abuse, overcrowding, and inadequate food and medical care among the problems. An argument between prisoners and guards on September 9th led to a fight. One Correction Officer, William Quinn, was badly beaten and died of his injuries two days later. Prisoners ultimately took 42 hostages from prison staff in an attempt to negotiate satisfactory changes, listing 28 demands that were similar to an earlier manifesto protesting their conditions at the prison. Some were met, but amnesty for the prison uprising was refused by New York State officials. The forcible retaking of Attica by New York State Police on September 13th, 1971 left 39 people dead, including nine hostages. All were killed by gunfire from law enforcement. Attica is remembered as both a failure of the American prison system and a call for justice against human-rights violations. This exhibition presents various viewpoints of the uprising and its aftermath and explains why this event is still important 50 years later.
Co-sponsored by the Department of History; the Department of African & African American Studies; the Department of Criminal Justice; the Joey Jackson Intercultural Center; the SUNY Brockport Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and the Seymour Student Union. Panels curated by the New York State Museum.
Attica-For-Further-Study-Handout_Final-Version_Kramer_2021-09-14