Blood in the Water

Thompson begins by asking why, given that the Attica uprising took place in 1971 and Blood in the Water was published in 2016, it has taken over 45 years for a history of it to be written. This is because, she argues, of the state’s recalcitrance in disclosing important documents and its continued efforts to cover up what happened “to protect the politicians and members of law enforcement who caused so much trauma” (xvii). Nevertheless, Thompson expresses hope that the current work will be part of a process of healing for those affected.

Frank Smith, known as “Big Black” Smith, was a large African-American man who had been imprisoned in 1969 for holding up a dice game with a gun. Frank Smith was transferred to Attica in 1970. He was, unlike many of the prisoners there, non-religious and non-political. He had heard, though, of the revolts that year in other New York State prisons and felt that something similar might happen at Attica.

Thompson describes conditions for prisoners in Attica in 1971. Prisoners were confined in cramped cells for between 15 and 24 hours a day. There was insufficient food, clothing, and toiletries, with inmates given only one roll of toilet paper per month.