Exploring the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971: A Legacy of Justice and Reform
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — SEPT. 18, 2024 — Dutchess Community College is honored to present the sixth event in the DCC Foundation’s Dr. D. David Conklin Distinguished Lecture Series, featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author and University of Michigan Professor of History Dr. Heather Ann Thompson. On Oct. 3, Dr. Thompson will provide an in-depth exploration of the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971, examining its lasting impact on issues of justice and reform.
In September 1971, nearly 1,300 inmates at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York took control of the prison to protest against years of mistreatment. The state responded with a violent crackdown, deploying hundreds of heavily armed troopers and correctional officers to retake the prison. Despite the brutality, only the prisoners were prosecuted, with no charges brought against the officials involved.
Dr. Thompson, who has spent over a decade researching the uprising—the subject of her acclaimed book, “Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy”—will discuss its lasting impact and its significance for today’s ongoing discussions about criminal justice and civil rights. Her lecture promises to offer valuable insights into the complex issues of systemic injustice and the quest for reform.
Dr. Thompson’s lecture, titled “The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Why It Matters Today” will take place on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in the James and Betty Hall Theatre on the College’s main campus. The event is part of the Dr. D. David Conklin Distinguished Lecture Series, established by the DCC Foundation to recognize the College’s fourth president, who retired in 2014.
Dr. Heather Ann Thompson is a professor of history at the University of Michigan. Her most recent book “Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy” (2016) won both the Pulitzer Prize in History and the Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy. Dr. Thompson has written extensively on the history of policing, mass incarceration and the current criminal justice system for both scholarly and popular publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. In the policy arena, Dr. Thompson has served on a National Academy of Sciences blue-ribbon panel that studied the causes and consequences of mass incarceration in the United States and on its standing Committee for Law and Justice. She currently co-runs the Carceral State Project at the University of Michigan and recently was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
This is a free community event. For more information, call the DCC Foundation at (845) 431-8407. Please request sign language interpreting services or other special accommodations at least two weeks prior to the event by contacting Linda Bertolozzi at (845) 431-8058 or bertoloz@sunydutchess.edu.
Visitors are advised to park in Lot D (GPS address: 90 Cottage Rd, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601).
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Founded in 1957, Dutchess Community College is a two-year community college that has earned a reputation for providing an outstanding education and offers one of the lowest tuition rates in New York state. The College currently has four locations including its main campus in Poughkeepsie, DCC @ Fishkill, DCC @ HVR Airport, and DCC @ the Partnership. For more information visit www.sunydutchess.edu.