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Episode 17: Now They Do What They Told Ya
What do you do when the system publicly breaks in front of everyone… and then just keeps going?
In the early 1970s, America looked like it was restoring order. The protests of the 1960s had fractured public trust, televised violence had exposed deep cracks in American institutions, and “law and order” politics promised stability in return.
But the conflict never disappeared. It just changed location.
This episode of The Persistence traces the shift from public unrest to bureaucratic management, as social problems became increasingly reframed as crime, punishment, and individual failure. As the Controlled Substances Act expanded policing and incarceration, prisons became the place the state moved the people and pressures it no longer wanted to confront publicly.
Inside those walls, incarcerated people organized against overcrowding, racialized labor exploitation, brutality, and systemic neglect. After the killing of George Jackson at San Quentin in 1971, unrest spread across the country and culminated at Attica, where prisoners negotiated publicly, issued demands, and forced the nation to look directly at what had been hidden behind prison walls.
The state answered with overwhelming force.
And afterward, almost immediately, the narrative started changing.
This episode explores the history of Attica, George Jackson, prison organizing, law and order politics, mass incarceration, and the evolution of institutional power in post-1960s America.
🎧 Listen if you’re interested in:Attica uprising · George Jackson · Prison history · Law and order politics · Mass incarceration · 1970s America · Protest movements · Political history · State violence · Social movements
This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT.
Our theme song is Don’t Kid Yourself Baby by Fold, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for The Persistence features Mexican-American activist Jovita Idar and was created by Tamra Collins of Sunroot Studio.
Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits
Books
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
“A Storm over Attica,” (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 14, October 1, 1971), 26-29 p.
Attica: The Official Report of the New York State Special Commission on Attica, The New York State Special Commission on Attica, chaired by Robert B. McKay, (Bantam Books, Inc., September 1972)
“Attica Prison’s Bloody Monday” by John Pekkanen, (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 13, September 24, 1971), 26-36 p.
“Attica Revisited” by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins, (Arizona Law Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1972)
Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson
“‘The Dignity and Justice that Is Due to Us by Right of Our Birth’: Violence and Rights in the 1971 Attica Riot” by Andrew Mamo, (Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review (CR-CL), Vol. 29, No. 2, June 27, 2014)
The Honest Politician’s Guide to Crime Control by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins, (University of Chicago Press, 1970)
The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics by Bruce J Schulman, (Da Capo Press, 2001)
“Waiting for a Riot” by James Mills, (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 14, October 1, 1971), 30-35 p.
Links
“Attica Prison Rebellion,” (Prisons, The Freedom Archives)
Attica Revisited, (Talking History, 2006)
“The Attica Uprising, September 9-13, 1971,” (The Attica Uprising, Resources, New York State Library, Nov 15, 2022)
“Timeline of Events of the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Subsequent Legal Actions,” (New York State Archives, New York State Education Department)
Other
“Crime and the Courts,” (Carousel Films, CBS News, 1971)
“Justice Delayed, Justice Denied,” (Carousel Films, CBS News, 1971)
“NBC Nightly News,” (Archive.org, NBC, Aug 3, 1970)
“New York State Division of State Police Motion Picture Film and Videotapes,” (New York State Archives, New York State Education Department)
“Remember Attica - Part 1: The Rebellion,” (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 2: The Invasion," (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 3: The Blackout," (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 4: Black Friday,” (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 5: Reconstruction, Reflection, Reaction,” (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“The Unbelievable Story Of The 1971 Attica Prison Uprising,”
Support
It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting The Persistence means supporting all of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.
Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.
One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than any marketing budget I don’t have.
Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) literally keeps the mic on and the stories flowing.
Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing [email protected].
Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, Obsessively Curious!! It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.
Get full access to Obsessively Curious at obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Angélica CorderoWhat do you do when the system publicly breaks in front of everyone… and then just keeps going?
In the early 1970s, America looked like it was restoring order. The protests of the 1960s had fractured public trust, televised violence had exposed deep cracks in American institutions, and “law and order” politics promised stability in return.
But the conflict never disappeared. It just changed location.
This episode of The Persistence traces the shift from public unrest to bureaucratic management, as social problems became increasingly reframed as crime, punishment, and individual failure. As the Controlled Substances Act expanded policing and incarceration, prisons became the place the state moved the people and pressures it no longer wanted to confront publicly.
Inside those walls, incarcerated people organized against overcrowding, racialized labor exploitation, brutality, and systemic neglect. After the killing of George Jackson at San Quentin in 1971, unrest spread across the country and culminated at Attica, where prisoners negotiated publicly, issued demands, and forced the nation to look directly at what had been hidden behind prison walls.
The state answered with overwhelming force.
And afterward, almost immediately, the narrative started changing.
This episode explores the history of Attica, George Jackson, prison organizing, law and order politics, mass incarceration, and the evolution of institutional power in post-1960s America.
🎧 Listen if you’re interested in:Attica uprising · George Jackson · Prison history · Law and order politics · Mass incarceration · 1970s America · Protest movements · Political history · State violence · Social movements
This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT.
Our theme song is Don’t Kid Yourself Baby by Fold, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for The Persistence features Mexican-American activist Jovita Idar and was created by Tamra Collins of Sunroot Studio.
Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits
Books
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
“A Storm over Attica,” (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 14, October 1, 1971), 26-29 p.
Attica: The Official Report of the New York State Special Commission on Attica, The New York State Special Commission on Attica, chaired by Robert B. McKay, (Bantam Books, Inc., September 1972)
“Attica Prison’s Bloody Monday” by John Pekkanen, (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 13, September 24, 1971), 26-36 p.
“Attica Revisited” by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins, (Arizona Law Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1972)
Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson
“‘The Dignity and Justice that Is Due to Us by Right of Our Birth’: Violence and Rights in the 1971 Attica Riot” by Andrew Mamo, (Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review (CR-CL), Vol. 29, No. 2, June 27, 2014)
The Honest Politician’s Guide to Crime Control by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins, (University of Chicago Press, 1970)
The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics by Bruce J Schulman, (Da Capo Press, 2001)
“Waiting for a Riot” by James Mills, (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 14, October 1, 1971), 30-35 p.
Links
“Attica Prison Rebellion,” (Prisons, The Freedom Archives)
Attica Revisited, (Talking History, 2006)
“The Attica Uprising, September 9-13, 1971,” (The Attica Uprising, Resources, New York State Library, Nov 15, 2022)
“Timeline of Events of the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Subsequent Legal Actions,” (New York State Archives, New York State Education Department)
Other
“Crime and the Courts,” (Carousel Films, CBS News, 1971)
“Justice Delayed, Justice Denied,” (Carousel Films, CBS News, 1971)
“NBC Nightly News,” (Archive.org, NBC, Aug 3, 1970)
“New York State Division of State Police Motion Picture Film and Videotapes,” (New York State Archives, New York State Education Department)
“Remember Attica - Part 1: The Rebellion,” (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 2: The Invasion," (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 3: The Blackout," (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 4: Black Friday,” (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“Remember Attica - Part 5: Reconstruction, Reflection, Reaction,” (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)
“The Unbelievable Story Of The 1971 Attica Prison Uprising,”
Support
It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting The Persistence means supporting all of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.
Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.
One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than any marketing budget I don’t have.
Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) literally keeps the mic on and the stories flowing.
Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing [email protected].
Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, Obsessively Curious!! It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.
Get full access to Obsessively Curious at obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe