50 Years Later: The Legacy of the Attica Uprising

Chuck Culhane is traveling to Attica Prison Thursday to participate in a vigil honoring those who lost their lives 50 years ago within the prison’s walls.

He does not believe the vigil will garner any headlines.

“That's emblematic of the attitude towards prisoners,” he said. “Towards people inside, that they don't exist. They weren't killed. And so a few of us are going to go out there and just read the names of individuals at the prison. The names of all the people, including the guards.”

What is the lasting legacy of Attica — a landmark event that encapsulates a generation of social progression, yet an event that also left at least 43 incarcerated persons and prison guards dead? On the 50th anniversary of the uprising, the conversation around its legacy is varied.