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QUESTION: how to find further information/outcome of 1978 Bedford Hills strikes and demonstrations?

Submitted by Anonymooose on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 4:07pm
question / pregunta: 

In the summer of 1978, women incarcerated at Bedford Hills held several peaceful strikes protesting the increased brutality, draconian conditions, and 35-cent-per-day wages at unskilled jobs. When the administration proved unresponsive to their strikes, the women asked outside groups to organize demonstrations outside the prison (which happened in August and again in October). Where would I find further information about these strikes and outside demonstrations and the results (if any) of these actions?

Answers

Answer posted by: sherrysunshine

In Victoria Law's publication, "Invisibility of Women Prisoner Resistance," she briefly discusses the Bedford Hills Women's Correctional Facility strikes on page 2. Here is the link: http://bermudaradical.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/invisibility-of-women-prisoner-resistance-by-victoria-law.pdf
 (It may be more effective to right-click and save the link than to open in a browser)
She mentions that this event was called the "August Rebellion" and did not receive much media attention. However, it was briefly covered in a back story by the The New York Times. I was able to find a list of stories that may be relevant (the first 3 seem the most relevant) to your search: http://bit.ly/m8pcGK Though they are for purchase through the website, you may be able to find them available for viewing in microfilm at your local academic/public library.

Answer posted by: mfitzgibbons

It's probably too insignificant to help, but I found a brief mention of a protest in the Village Voice newspaper from September 4, 1978. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=muBLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aosDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bedford-hills%20women%20prison&pg=3504%2C5108083

#1Submitted by jbeek on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 2:27am.

I suspect that the questioner

I suspect that the questioner will already be aware of Ms. Law's pamphlet cited in the first answer, but for others who may come across this question it is an excellent resource.
#2Submitted by jenna on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 9:45am.

Ha ha--I suspect jbeek is

Ha ha--I suspect jbeek is right!
#3Submitted by Alycia on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 9:19am.

NY State Archives

Have you checked the NY State Archives? It looks like they have some papers relating to the prison: http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_corrections_inst_bedford.shtml, although many don't go up to 1978 (the only one that does are the "Inmate case files"), but it might be worth a trip to Albany?

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