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The Searchlight Series: 50th Anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprising

September 7, 2021, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

The Searchlight Series: 50th Anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprising

Free. Live-streamed on Facebook and via Zoom webinar.

Join our guests Dee Quinn Miller, Heather Ann Thompson and Aaron Noble for a panel discussion commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprising, the subsequent retaking of the prison and the legacy of Attica half a century later. The Attica Prison Uprising in September 1971 is remembered as a landmark event in the history of civil rights struggles for incarcerated Americans. It resulted in the deaths of 43 people, including 10 correctional officers, most by New York state police gunfire during the retaking the facility.

Deanne Quinn Miller is the daughter of slain Corrections Officer William E. Quinn and member and spokesperson of the Forgotten Victims of Attica. Dee has recently completed a memoir of her life and the aftermath of the Attica Riot titled The Prison Guard’s Daughter; My Journey Through the Ashes of Attica, published by Diversion Books. The book is scheduled to be released September 7, 2021.

Aaron Noble is the senior historian for political, governmental, and military history at the New York State Museum in Albany where he serves as curator for the Attica Prison Uprising Collection. Noble holds a master's degree in public history from the State University of New York, University at Albany. He is coauthor of An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War and A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War.

Dr. Heather Ann Thompson is a historian at the University of Michigan, and is the Pulitzer Prize and Bancroft Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy. She has written on the history of mass incarceration, as well as its current impact, for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, Salon, Dissent, New Labor Forum and The Huffington Post, as well as numerous scholarly publications.

This event is part of Eastern State's ongoing Searchlight Series of events addressing issues in contemporary corrections. The Searchlight Series discussions take place the first Tuesday of every month, free and open to the public. No reservations required.

2017 American Aliance of Museums Excellence in Exhibitions Overall Winner