“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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.