I don't normally get my information about seminal events in American history from graphic novels but a full-length history of the 1971 Attica uprising wasn't something I ever would pick up either. It occurred weeks within my arrival at Columbia but I was oblivious to it at the time.
Frank "Big Black" Smith (1933-2004) narrates the events from his perspective as the man designated by the mostly black inmates to negotiate on their behalf for better conditions and basic rights in an inhumane environment run by a cadre of white supremacist thugs. But as fully cognizant as I have become of systemic racism in American society, I took much of what he describes with a grain of salt, particularly his headlong attack on Nelson Rockefeller. The book avoids analyzing any political considerations New York State's governor may have faced in trying to get the situation under control even though Smith encountered similar pressures from inmates more radical than he. Rockefeller, however, had Presidential aspirations while Smith sought only to negotiate prison reform.
Still, if nothing else, Big Black Stand at Attica cites forensic evidence that some unarmed hostages and prisoners were shot in the back by the law enforcement personnel that Rockefeller dispatched to quell the rebellion after three days. According to Wikipedia, this resulted in the deaths of 33 prisoners and 10 guards, all but four of whom were killed by Rockefeller's goons. Smith himself was tortured by guards reacting to a rumor that he had castrated one of their own.
Although modest improvements were made in prisoner living conditions in the immediate aftermath of the uprising, Attica has since reverted to the status quo of the late 60s and early 70s. For obvious reasons, prisoner's rights have failed to get much political traction--felons in many states are prohibited from voting while incarcerated--but Attica remains a haunting reminder of what can happen in the absence of reform.
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