In the fall of 1972, the men incarcerated at the state prison in Walpole, Massachusetts organized themselves into a labor union—the National Prisoners Reform Association (NPRA). In March of 1973, when Walpole’s guards went on strike, the NPRA took over the prison and ran it peacefully for two months. Seizing on the opportunities provided by the guards’ strike and by a radical new Commissioner of Correction, John Boone, Walpole’s prisoners launched an extraordinary struggle for self-determination and an important chapter in the movement for prison abolition.

Marking the 50th anniversary of these events, ArtRage will screen the original 40 minute documentary film 3,000 Years and Life. Following the film, representatives from Unchained, a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling the carceral state and the prison industrial complex, will discuss current conditions inside New York State prisons and the work, led by currently and formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones, to improve them.

Free to the Public. Co-sponsored by Syracuse Cultural Workers.

Additional history:
When the Prisoners Ran the Prison

Resistance behind bars : Walpole prisoner strike 50 years on