In this issue…
#FreeThemAll: Commemorating the Attica Uprising, 49 Years Later
Katal Member Meetings in CT
#FreeThemAll: Commemorating the Attica Uprising, 49 Years Later
Happy Friday! This week in NYC, Katal members and staff participated in the #FreeThemAll Teach In and March to call for the release of people detained in jails and prisons. The #FreeThemAll week of actions, organized by our allies at the American Friends Service Committee to Commemorate the Attica Uprising 49 years ago.
Katal and allies hold up our #FreeThemNow banner during Wednesday’s action.
From September 9 to 13, 1971, the men incarcerated at the Attica Correctional Facility took control of the prison to demand basic human and political rights, such as proper food, medical care, fair payment for labor, and more. After four days of fruitless negotiations, the prison was retaken and 39 people were killed in a 15-minute assault by state police.
Nearly 50 years later, little has changed in the conditions incarcerated people face in prisons and jails. Black and Brown people are still being brutalized through state violence, inside and outside of jails and prisons across the country. And while much in our country has shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people are still being subjected to sickness and death inside jails and prisons. This week’s actions marking the anniversary of the Attica Uprising reminds us that our work is connected to a long history, and has roots in something bigger than ourselves.
- To learn more about the national days of action to #FreeThemAll and the Attica Uprising, visit AFSC’s link! www.afsc.org/FreeThemAll
- And check out this great resource from Project NIA – a short primer on the Attica Uprising.
Katal Member Meetings in CT
Our CT Member Meeting is held every week on Thursday. Discussion is led by Katal members about issues across Connecticut that are impacting our communities and loved ones, and our work in the state to end mass incarceration, including our #FreeThemNowCT campaign.
In Connecticut? Want to get involved as a member or volunteer? Contact Kenyatta Thompson at kthompson@katalcenter.org.
Keep practicing social distancing, wear your mask, wash your hands, and check in on your neighbors. If you want to get involved, learn more about our work, or just connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
