After Attica: Criminal Justice and Mass Incarceration
History doesn’t always speak so directly to the present, but Heather Ann Thompson’s Pulitzer-winning account of the 1971 Attica Uprisings is in direct conversation with more recent coverage by the New York Times, also recognized by Pulitzer for investigative reporting in 2017. Our panelists will examine the social and historical forces at work in the American penal system and explain the investigative work behind their findings.
Heather Ann Thompson, author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising and Its Legacy, winner of the 2017 Pulitzer for history, and Professor of History and of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan.
Michael Winerip, former investigative reporter for the New York Times, 2017 finalist for reporting on New York State’s prisons.
Elizabeth Hinton, Assistant Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and author of From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America.
Toussaint Losier, Assistant Professor of Afro-American History at University of Massachusetts. Toussaint will moderate.
This is the first of four evenings featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and journalists. This initiative seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. Follow @humanitiesny on twitter and facebook or sign up for our newsletter to learn more.
Federal Hall
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New York, NY 10005