“We are men. We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten or driven as such... What has happened here is but the sound before the fury of those who are oppressed.” These words were spoken during the 1971 Attica Prison Rebellion by one of its leaders, Elliott Barkley.
“我们是人! 我们不是野兽!我们也不想 像野兽一样被打、被驱赶…… 这里所发生的一切仅仅是 那些被压迫的人愤怒的呼声。” 这些话来自1971年 阿提卡监狱暴动的一位领导人 埃利奥特·巴克利。
At the time, Attica prison was severely overcrowded. Its majority Black and Latino population faced constant physical and verbal abuse. All prison guards were white. Some were members of white supremacist hate groups. Guards threw away letters that weren’t written in English and prohibited Muslim religious services. They punished white prisoners for fraternizing with non-white men. Prisoners were allowed one shower a week and one roll of toilet paper a month.
当时,阿提卡监狱严重超员。 监狱所关押的囚犯 主要是黑人和拉丁裔, 他们受到持续不断的身体、语言虐待。 所有的警卫都是白人, 其中有些来自白人至上主义团体。 警卫们把那些 不是用英语写的信件扔掉, 禁止穆斯林宗教礼拜。 他们惩罚那些 对非白人友善的白人囚犯。 囚犯们每周只能洗一次澡, 每个月只发放一卷厕纸。
Among those imprisoned at Attica were Elliott Barkley, Frank Smith, and Herbert X. Blyden. “I’m dying here little by little every day...” Barkley wrote his mother. She contacted authorities, but nothing changed. He began writing a book about life at Attica. Meanwhile, Smith worked a position called the “warden’s laundry boy” for 30 cents day. His grandmother had been enslaved. Because Smith and others were treated as less-than-human at the will of their keepers, they viewed prison as an extension of slavery. And Blyden had participated in prison strikes and rebellions. He and others saw the violence of prison as symptomatic of a societal problem where individuals are denied justice based on their class and race. They felt people shouldn’t be stripped of their rights to health and dignity upon being sentenced. Instead, resources should go towards meeting people’s basic needs to prevent crime in the first place.
在阿提卡监狱关押的有 埃利奥特·巴克利、弗兰克·史密斯 以及赫伯特·X·布莱登。 “我在这里一天天地走向死亡……”, 巴克利向母亲写道。 她联系了当局,但是什么都没有改变。 巴克利开始撰写一本 关于阿提卡监狱生活的书。 同时,史密斯在一个叫作 “典狱长的洗衣童”的岗位上工作, 每天的工资只有30美分。 史密斯的祖母曾经是奴隶。 因为史密斯和其他人在狱警的意愿下 遭受低人一等的待遇, 他们把监狱视作奴隶制度的余毒。 布莱登参与监狱中的罢工和暴动。 他和他的同伴们认为 监狱里的暴力暴露的是社会问题, 人们因为自己的阶级和种族 而被剥夺了正义和公平。 他们认为人们不应该因为犯了罪 而被剥夺拥有健康和尊严的权利。 相反,人们的基本需求应该被满足, 这样才能防范于未然, 避免犯罪的发生。
In the summer of 1971, Blyden co-founded the Attica Liberation Faction. The group compiled a manifesto and petitioned Corrections Commissioner Russell Oswald and Governor Nelson Rockefeller for better treatment. Though largely ignored, they continued organizing. After activist George Jackson was killed at a California prison, 700 men at Attica participated in a silent fast.
1971年夏天,布莱登与同伴们 共同创立了“阿提卡解放团”。 他们编写了一个宣言 向惩戒专员拉塞尔·奥斯瓦尔德 和纳尔逊•洛克菲勒州长请愿, 希望得到更好的对待。 尽管他们被无视, 他们一直开展相关工作。 在活跃分子乔治·杰克森 在加州的一个监狱中被杀后, 阿提卡监狱中有700名囚犯 参与静坐绝食。
Just weeks later, on September 9th, a spontaneous uprising began. A group of prisoners overpowered guards, sparking the Attica Rebellion. Prisoners broke windows, started fires, and captured supplies. They beat many guards. One of them, William Quinn, would die from his injuries. Soon, over 1,200 prisoners had assembled in the yard with 42 hostages, preparing to demand change. They established a medical bay, delegated men to prepare and ration food, protected and sheltered guards, and elected a negotiating committee. They appointed Blyden chief negotiator, Smith as security chief, and Barkely as a speaker.
仅仅几个星期后,9月9日, 一场自发的暴动发生了。 一群囚犯制服了警卫, 引发了阿提卡监狱暴动。 囚犯们打破窗户、纵火、收缴物资。 他们殴打了很多警卫。 其中一个警卫, 威廉姆·奎因伤重不治。 很快,超过1200名囚犯挟持42名人质 聚集在监狱的院子里 准备要求改变待遇。 他们建立了一个医疗室, 分派人员准备和分配食物, 保护警卫,并选出了一个谈判委员会。 他们指派布莱登为首席谈判代表, 史密斯担任安全主管, 巴克利作为发言人。
Later that day, Barkley presented their demands to the press. When his mother saw him on TV, she was terrified. He was just days from being released. But she believed authorities would want retribution.
当日稍晚,巴克利 把他们的要求告诉了媒体。 当他的母亲在电视上看到他时, 她吓坏了。 因为再有几天他就该刑满释放了。 她相信当局一定会报复他的。
Over the next four days, prisoners held negotiations with officials. They called for a minimum wage, rehabilitation programs, better education, and more. They promised all remaining hostages would be safe if they were given amnesty for crimes committed during the uprising.
接下来的四天里, 囚犯们与政府开展了多次谈判。 他们呼吁最低工资、康复措施、 更好的教育等等。 他们承诺只要暴动期间 所犯的罪行能被赦免, 他们就能保证剩下的人质的安全。
Meanwhile, Governor Rockefeller began crisis talks with President Nixon. The president told his chief of staff that the rebellion should be quelled to set an example for other Black activists. Commissioner Oswald announced he’d meet a number of the demands, but refused to guarantee amnesty. Prisoners refused to surrender. As warnings of an imminent siege mounted, they threatened to kill 8 hostages if attacked. Nevertheless, Rockefeller ordered troops to retake the prison.
同时,洛克菲勒州长把危机的情况 汇报给尼克松总统。 总统告诉他的幕僚长 暴动应该被镇压, 以儆效尤。 奥斯瓦尔多局长宣称 他同意了一系列要求, 但是不能保证赦免 暴动期间所犯的罪行。 囚犯们拒绝投降。 作为对迫在眉睫的包围的警告, 他们威胁道,如果遭受进攻, 他们将杀死8名人质。 尽管如此,洛克菲勒州长 依然下令军队夺回监狱。
Helicopters tear-gassed the yard. Troopers shot over 2,000 rounds of ammunition, killing 29 prisoners and 10 guards, and wounding many others. Witnesses say troopers found Barkley and shot him in the back. Officers stripped surviving men naked, tortured them, and deprived them of medical attention. Blyden was starved for days. Smith was sexually violated, burned with cigarettes, dragged into isolation, and beaten.
直升机向院内投放了催泪瓦斯。 军队发射了2000多发子弹, 击毙29名囚犯,误杀了10名警卫, 并射伤多人。 目击者声称军队找到巴克利, 从背后枪杀他。 警察们把囚犯的衣服脱光并拷打他们, 而且剥夺他们的医护。 布莱登被饿了数天。 史密斯被性侵,被雪茄烫, 拖入禁闭室,殴打。
Directly after the attack, Governor Rockefeller thought prisoners were responsible for the deaths of the 10 guards. He called it “a beautiful operation.” President Nixon congratulated Rockefeller and told his chief of staff that the way to stop “radicals” was to “kill a few.” But autopsies soon confirmed that prisoners hadn’t killed any guards during the attack, as threatened. Government forces had. Nixon told Rockefeller to stand his ground.
此次夺回监狱的进攻后, 洛克菲勒州长认为囚犯们 应该对10名警卫的死负责。 他说这次进攻是一个“漂亮战”。 尼克松总统恭贺洛克菲勒州长 并告诉自己的幕僚长 阻挡“那些激进分子”的办法 就是“杀上一批人”。 但是尸检很快证明 囚犯们并没有像之前所威胁的那样 在遭到进攻时杀掉哪怕一名警卫。 杀死他们的是军队。 尼克松叫洛克菲勒站稳立场。
Those who survived the massacre continued fighting for revolutionary change. Long after being released, Smith and Blyden campaigned for social justice and prison abolition. The demands men made at Attica in 1971 remain at the core of ongoing protests— within and beyond prison walls.
屠杀中的幸存者继续为改革而奋斗。 获释后很长的一段时间内, 史密斯和布莱登 为寻求社会正义、废除监狱而奔走。 时至今日,那些1971年阿提卡的囚犯 所提出的要求, 依然是监狱高墙内外 持续不断抗议的核心议题。