Storming of The Gates: 50 Years After Attica, Activists Are Still Fighting To End Coerced Prison Labor

After the uprising and the bloodshed that ended it, state officials agreed to several of the inmates’ initial 27 requested reforms. Authorities ultimately recognized Muslim prisoners’ right to receive religious texts and eat meals free of pork and gave prisoners more frequent access to showers. But one of the prisoners’ key demands, ending forced labor, was never realized. A bill before Congress could finally change that. The “Abolition Amendment” would expand the anti-slavery protections in the 13th Amendment to ensure that prisoners are no longer forced to work against their will.