- THE LARGEST PRISON strike in U.S. history has been going on for nearly a week, but there’s a good chance you haven’t heard about it. For months, inmates at dozens of prisons across the country have been organizing through a network of smuggled cellphones, social media pages, and the support of allies on the outside. The effort culminated in a mass refusal to report to prison jobs on September 9, the anniversary of the 1971 Attica prison uprising.
“There are probably 20,000 prisoners on strike right now, at least, which is the biggest prison strike in history, but the information is really sketchy and spotty,” "but organizers and supporters have no doubt the scale of the action is unprecedented, though their assessment is difficult to verify and some corrections departments denied reports of strike-related activities in their states." Could this be a part of the reason why it hasn't been picked up by major news outlets? This seems like a rather disorganized strike. I also cant help but think that these numbers are optimistic. Even if it is the largest strike, I am willing to bet that it is one of the least concentrated geographically. Of course, my hope that something this big would be picked up by major media outlets is also optimistic at best. The prison system definitely needs reform, I just hope that the protests don't become violent.