Portland/Observer Thursday, October E , 1972 Page 7
Race and racism played down in Attica Report
by Rulw rt N. T a ylo r
In the w.ike of the lorig-
awaitod report on last year's
rebellion
at Attica state
prison, Die reaction among
many
Black peisous as-
' i I
Wife
V ttlia has
generally
lasen favorable,
term ing tl« report an ade­
quate indictment ol the M nerl-
can iwual system.
Set
several
complaints
common among Blacks Hiding
dlsagieemenl with tl« report
have been alreJ and chief
among them is tl« le lie f that
the significance ol race in the
origin and development ol the
Attica re le llio n and blood
letting was consciously played
down,
M ilton W ill lams, a Black
m e m la r ol tl« investigative
team, S|«akuig at a Columbia
U niversity graduate school
forum recently. Indicated that
in his opinion, race and
racism were actually two ol
the most important factors
lehlnd tl« outbreak and killin g
at A ttica.
" In essence," said W il­
liam s, " t l « reasons lo r what
hapiiened at A ttica are no
different than those which
caused tl« Harlem, Watts.
D e tro it, Newark and o tl« r
rio ts of tl« m id- and late
s ix tie s ,"
11« commission
itse ll,
though o fficia lly placing a
lesser emphasis on race,
re a c h e d many conclusions
which Ixittress Williams* con­
tention.
"B a th e r than Iving re­
volutionary conspirators bent
on d estruction," tl« liody
found, "th e Attica re te lsw e re
part of a new breed of
young, more aware Inmates—
hugely Black- who came to
prison lu ll of deep feelings
ol alienation and hostility
against tl«establislied system
ol law and government, en­
hanced self-esteem, racial
pride and political awareness
and an unwillingness to accept
the
petty humiliation aid
racism
that characterized
prison I lie ."
I le r le r t X. Blyden, an a rti­
culate form er inmate during
the re le llio n , has echoed this
emphasis on tl« new breed of
Black prisoiw rs and lu rtl« i
pointed out that this r e le l­
lion also, like others through­
out recent history, accom-
plislied very lew gains lo r
Black people.
" T l»
Bloody Massacre
which (took place at Attica)
shows that the pray-ln stage,
the wade-ln stage, the s it-in
stage, yes even the rio t stage,
has failed to altei tl« course
ol tins repressive system ol
In ju stic e ," said Blyden.
A tu ith e r characteristic ol
PUBLIC SALE!
BUILDING M ATERIAL STORE
TO BE VACATED
u ve i )7S,utJU worth ol lu ild ln g m aterials m l othet home
and farm supplies must 1« liquidated imine In te l) Some
fire and smoke damaged products. store must 1« vacated
in
two weeks. Come e a rly fo r le st H ivs' store
funnel ly
M AYHEW SASH A DOOR
I 6 0 1 N o rth C o lu m b ia B lv d P o rtla n d O r«
O p e n « v « ry d a y a n d a ll d o y S u n d a y
I’ M I M I I) \( 11<>\
SWAP
atdiomaiic
F IS H F E E D E R
the Black and T h ird World
inmates In the revolt that
has teen noted was a strong
l« lie l In tl« humanity of the
prison o fficia ls, a faith which
one general-counsel fo r the
commission said approacl«d
the realm of naivete,
'Ihe inmates c le a rly be­
lieved that as lung as they
held the guards as hostages,
there would 1« no assult on
them. I lius they held out con­
tinuously fo r complete am­
nesty, even after the 28 of
th e ir demands had allegedly
been agreed to.
Tl® white hostages, said
W illiam s, were a kind of
Insurance, Ixit an insurance
which held little sway with
the prison o fficials and state
police who were set on an
armed assault. As a matter
of fact, 1« added, in spite
of the impression given to
the outside w orld, " t l * in­
mates were never told by
the observers o r anyone else
that the state was idamant
against amr«sty and that their
choice was 1«tween accep­
tance ol the -’ 8 (Xilnts oi facing
an armed assault."
so strong were the inmates'
le lie ls that in armed assault
would not occur is long as
tl« y held the hostages that
even when tl« issault actually
legan, there were prisoners
In tl« yard telling ocher In­
mates not to run and shouting
“ they ( tl« state police) are
only using ru b ie r lu lle ts ,"
revealed a commission coun­
sel.
However, as all tl« p ri­
soners soon realized, tie
bullets were real and many
men died.
11« report has shed further
light on the already question­
able reasoning underlying and
guiding the assault. It Is es-
j«c tally worth noting that even
though it was known by police
commanders that there was
h o stility among their men to­
wards tl« inmates, and fu r tle r
that Gov. Rockefeller had
ordered all Attica co rre c­
tional fa cility officers to 1«
b irre d from tie assault due
to tt e ir emotional attachment
to the re le llio n , not only did
they a c t i v e l y participate
( a g a in s t
tl«
governor's
orders), lu te ve ryo ie involved
In tie in v a s io n - - state
Hoopers aid prison officials
alike - - was unrestricted In
their use of shotguns.
OR f.R \ \ l I \R
I ooh
J1595
« P I ’S B O T T L E __
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• • " ’’O
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An
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i .
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282-8361
fe lle r's m ajor concern during
tl« Attica rebellion was not
to prevent the loss of lives,
but rather to prevent Attica
from becoming a precedent-
settlng event fo r Inmates in
other prlsions In the UJS.
Gov. Rockefeller himself
even confessed, "1 was trying
to do the best I could to save
the hostages, save the p ri­
soners and restore tie order
and preserve our system with­
out undertaking actions which
could set a precedent which
would go across the country
like wild fire .”
That system which Gov.
Rockefeller was trying so
hard
to
preserve — tie
American penal system —
clalmes to be the only viable
method
of
handling such
'crim inals* through Incar­
ceration and accompanying
rehabilitation.
It is In the
name of rehabilitation that
the Inmates’ demands are
denied, tl« crim inals tried
and the system maintained.
Yet In the case of Attica,
Am erica's bloodiest prison re­
bellion to date, tl« commis­
sion could only conclude that
" I f anyone was rehabilitated,
it was In spite of Attica, not
because of I t . "
PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
SPECIALIST I
Bi-W eekly >379.20 - >440.40
Assists In developing work
p r o g r a m s , presentations,
maps and graphic m aterial fo r
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proposals and presentations
on an on-going basis. Works
under the direction of the
Physical Program Coordi­
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proflclence in graphic arts,
printing,
and photography,
some w ritin g s k ills , ability
to communicate effectively
with professionals and non-
professionals. G r a d u a t io n
from a four-year college o r
U niversity in graphic orcom -
munication arts desirable, tu t
not mandatory. Minimum of
two years of training plus
two
years experience In
graphic communication photo­
graphy, o r graphic arts, par­
ticu la rly experience in gra­
phics fo r urban planning.
Apply in person before Oct.
13th at 5329 NJE. Union Ave.,
Room 217, Portland, Oregon
97211. An Equal Opportunity
Employer.
Ad Space Salesman
for metro newspaper
Comm, with advance
M IN O S M F A I R S - N O C M A R G t
hcx u r a o e t iv fR v
« t a x a e »«
3954 N. W illiam s Ave.
‘You’va Triad Th« Reti, Now Try Th« B««»”
N. Alexander, Proprietor
THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
2201 N. K illingsworfh
Portland,Oregon
2 8 3 -2 4 8 6
IN 11 K VA I ION A l. M l lt< IIA N D IS C M A R I. INC.
P () BOX 1621
SHREVEPORT, LO U IS IA N A 71164
PORTLAND
STUDENT
SERVICES
1802 S.W. 10th St., 224-
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Amount ol lood dis|iensed is adjustable Io suit your
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Instead, tl« governor re­
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a telephone call to President
Nixon, called the shots from
afar. It appears from avail­
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The governor should not
have committed the state's
armed forces against tie
rebel inmates, the com m is­
sion reasoned, without firs t
appearing on the scene and
satisfying himself that Here
was no other alternative and
that a ll precautions against
excessive
force would he
taken.
A P I. I O R RUM
NORTH & N.E. PORTLAND
\
Yet, placing in perspective
Gov. Rockefeller's stubborn
refusal to go to tie prison,
the commission said such
neglect became a m ajor con-
tu tu tln g factor to the up­
risin g .
I tese guns were loaded
with 0 0 -buckshotwhlch spread
at distances of 30 feet or
more, striking 'targets’ In­
d iscrim in a te ly. A fte r tie re­
le llio n was quelled, reprisals
against the prisoners took
fo r
I I \K I
place just as Indiscrim inately.
Some of tie most contro­
versial findings of the com­
m ission centered around the
role Gov. Nelson Rockefeller
played.
At tie time of the uprising,
said the report, the governor
realized that tie prison sys­
tem had long teen neglected,
was in reed of m ajor reform
and 1« had already accepted
tl« legitimacy of many of tie
Inmates' grievances.
W E ARE FULLY EQUIPPED TO
ORIGINATE OR DUPLICATE
any printed
MATERIAL
ALL TYPES OF PRINTED
MATTER
Equal Opportunity
Employer
P.O. Box 3137 City, 97 2 0 8
ELECTRICAL
CONSTRUCTION
APPRENTIC ESHIP
THE METRO ELECTRICAL APPREN­
TICESHIP COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES
THAT ALL APLICATIONS EOR ELEC­
TRICAL APPRENTICESHIP MUST BE
COMPLETED AND RECEIVED IN THIS
OFFICE BY OCT. 31, 1972.
preereets peet^tklels
APPLICATIONS are available weekdays
at the Metro office from 8:30 a.m . to
5 p.m ., 601 NE Everett, Portland, Ore.
For further information call the Metro
number, 233-5413.
W E CAN SATISFY Y O U R
P R IN TIN G NEEDS
An Equal Opportunity is porvided in the
Electrical Aprenticeship Program.
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laaa k m a tc a s i
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Please »end me the 17 piece imported knife »et If I am not
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Mem« .
Address
City ___
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