Fifty years ago, in September, prisoners took over the state prison. Attica, New York, an event that is still resonating today.
It has endured collective memory not because of the uprising itself, but because of how it ended: 30 state soldiers and police indiscriminately firing into prison yard and held hostage. In the outburst of violence that killed the above prisoners and guards.
NS show time documentary Attica, directed by Stanley Nelson When Tracy A. CurryInvestigate what caused the rebellion in prison, the negotiations that took place to end it peacefully, and the slaughter that ended it all. It made its debut on the network earlier this month.
“It definitely didn’t have to end that way,” Nelson said in a panel discussion at the Deadline Contenders Film: Documentary Awards-Season Event. “Suddenly the prisoners didn’t become violent against hostages, etc. That was just part of what the state really wanted to do …” We have the power to do this and we are tired. And I’m going to end it in the most violent way possible. “
Long before the uprising, Attica had a reputation as the “end of the road.” There, white guards treated prisoners (mostly colored) like animals. The former prisoners told the filmmakers what the atmosphere was like.
“When it was time for prisoners to move through prisons, I’ve heard them say that in other situations there wasn’t any verbal communication that one person would give to another. It was a stick to hit, “Carry said. “There was also something like this basic denial of humanity in terms of how guards and prisoners were interrelated.”
Nelson Rockefeller, then Governor of the Republican Party in New York, was encouraged by President Nixon to take a tough approach to the rebellion. Their discussion on the phone was captured by Nixon’s White House recording system.
“None of us can examine and know Rockefeller’s heart and soul, but in reality there was no sincere effort to pursue these negotiations and take the prisoners’ sought after seriously. It seems, “said Curry. “After all, for both Nixon and Rockefeller, this was a matter of their own political advantage that they could get out of this situation.”
Rockefeller refused to plead for a visit to Attica in an attempt to overcome the situation. He wasn’t asked to meet the prisoner — just to appear outside the prison wall.
“One of the things the prisoners wanted was to be asked. Therefore, the arrival of Rockefeller symbolizes that the state represented by Governor Rockefeller is listening to your opinion. You’re doing it, “Nelson said. “If Rockefeller was just there, I think it made a big difference.”
Check back on Tuesday for the panel video.
Stanley Nelson & Tracy A. Curry Interview — Candidates – Deadline
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