A two-day visit by Stanley Nelson and Heather Thompson.

Information shared by Matt Garcia of Dartmouth College:

On September 13, 1971, New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (’30) ordered armed prison guards, and state and local police to fire upon unarmed prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York to end negotiations between inmates and government officials over a standoff within the prison.  The actions taken that day resulted in the death of 33 inmates and 10 correctional officers who were taken hostage to end abuse and improve conditions at the prison.  The inmates included African American, and Puerto Rican (aka, “Spanish”), and working-class white prisoners who requested representation in negotiations by the Black Panthers and the Young Lords Party.

In 2017, Heather Ann Thompson won the Pulitzer Prize in History for her account of this event in Blood In the Water:  The Attica Prison Uprising and Its Legacy.  That book was the basis of Stanley Nelson’s award-winning documentary, “Attica,” in 2021.

On February 1st & 2nd, Dartmouth will host both Thompson and Nelson to revisit this history and consider the legacy of Nelson Rockefeller. 

On February 1, “Attica” will be screened in Loew Auditorium at the Black Visual Arts Center at 6:30pm, followed by a Q/A with Stanley Nelson moderated by Desirée Garcia (LALACS).

On February 2, Heather Ann Thompson will discuss her book, the history, and her ongoing struggle to reform correctional facilities in New York and beyond at Filene Auditorium in Moore Hall at 4:30pm.  Desirée Garcia, Trica Keaton, and I are the organizers of these two days with Rockefeller Center.

Both events are free and open to the public. 

This event is co-sponsored by Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies; The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy; African/African American Studies; History; Film and Media Studies; The Ethics Institute; and the Dean of Arts and Sciences