On Monday, September 12, 2022, the Liman Center will co-host Echoes of Attica – a music/theater performance about the 1971 prison uprising and its aftermath, featuring original songs written and performed by Philadelphia rap poet and activist BL Shirelle and the gospel singer Simply Naomi. Based on court transcripts, recently released FBI files, and interviews with eyewitnesses, the show will be introduced by Carlos Roche – who survived the assault at Attica – and feature a post-performance panel discussion about U.S. prisons, past and present. The show is free and all are welcome. In compliance with university COVID protocols, guests without a Yale University ID are required to register in advance by emailing Liman Center Director Jennifer Taylor at jennifer.taylor@yale.edu
From September 9-13, 1971, men imprisoned at New York’s Attica State Prison staged an uprising to protest mistreatment and dehumanizing conditions, only to be brutally suppressed with deadly force. The investigative report later released by the Attica Commission described the law enforcement response that killed 29 incarcerated men as “the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War.” Arthur Liman '57 served as the Attica Commission’s chief counsel.
Sponsoring Organization(s)
The Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School
The Law and Racial Justice Center
Yale Repertory Theater
Yale Institute of Sacred Music
Yale Divinity School
The Afro American Cultural Center at Yale
Yale College Department of Theater and Performance Studies.
