William Y. Cooper (1934-2016)

Attica is one of the earliest dated works in the exhibition, completed in the aftermath of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. On September 9, 1971, over 1,000 inmates at the maximum-security prison revolted amid growing tensions around poor living conditions and human rights violations. The inmates took guards and employees as hostages and released a list of demands that included better medical treatment and visitation rights, improved food quality, an end to physical violence, and amnesty for all involved in the rebellion. The uprising brought national attention to the role of race, class, and power on prison conditions and the treatment of mostly low-class, minority inmates. After four days of stalled negotiations, law enforcement forcefully retook the prison, killing 29 prisoners and 10 hostages. Cooper’s early graphic style uses color and line to illustrate the violence of the ordeal, and in particular, the state-sanctioned brutality against predominately Black and Brown bodies. The rebellion remains the most violent prison riot in US history.