Heather Ann Thompson is an American historian, author, activist, professor, and speaker from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Thompson won the 2017

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

, the 2016

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

, and other awards for her work '' Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy''.

Early life

Thompson was born in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

. Her parents, Ann Curry Thompson, a labor lawyer in Detroit, and Frank Wilson Thompson Jr., a professor of economics at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and Summer School lecturer at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Heather Ann's sister is Saskia Thompson, the current executive director of the Detroit Land Bank. Thompson's early childhood was spent in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

, and

Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, but in her teen years the family moved to the North Rosedale Park neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. Thompson graduated from

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

Career

Thompson earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the

and completed her PhD at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. Thompson was a faculty member at the

University of North Carolina, Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

, from 1997 to 2009, and then was a faculty member of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

from 2009 to 2015. In 2015. Thompson returned to the Detroit area when she and her husband (historian Jonathan Daniel Wells), accepted faculty positions at the University of Michigan. Thompson writes about the history and current crises of

mass incarceration Incarceration in the United States is a primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceratio ...

for numerous publications. Her work has been featured in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', '' Jacobin'',

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'', ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', and ''

Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

''. She has also appeared on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Sirius Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially la ...

, and various television news programs in the U.S. and abroad. Several of Thompson's scholarly pieces, including "Why Mass Incarceration Matters", have won best article awards, and her popular piece in ''The Atlantic'', "How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America", was named a finalist for the Best Media Award given by the

National Council on Crime and Delinquency Evident Change, formerly the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), is an American nonprofit social research organization. NCCD was organized by fourteen probation officers who met at Plymouth Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 1 ...

. Thompson was a Soros justice fellow, she founded the Carceral State Project and Documenting Criminalization and Confinement research initiative at the University or Michigan, she sits on the board of numerous organizations, and is a member of the standing Committee in Law and Justice at the National Academies. She served on a

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

blue-ribbon panel to study causes and consequences of incarceration in the U.S. Thompson's books include: ''Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Rebellion of 1971 and its Legacy'' (Pantheon Books, August 2016); ''Whose Detroit: Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City'' (2001, new edition 2017); and the edited collection, ''Speaking Out: Protest and Activism in the 1960s and 1970s''. Thompson was also named a distinguished lecturer by the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

The Attica uprising of 1971

The culmination of more than a decade of research, ''Blood in the Water'' offers the first definitive account of the 1971

Attica Prison riot The Attica Prison Riot, also known as the Attica Prison Rebellion, the Attica Uprising, or the Attica Prison Massacre, took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the high ...

. The book was released in August 2016 to coincide with the forty-fifth anniversary of the country's largest prison rebellion. The book sheds new light on the riot, the state's violent response, and the decades-long implications of Attica for those involved as well as America's criminal justice system. Thompson's research for the book included interviews with former Attica prisoners, hostages, families of victims, lawyers, judges, law enforcement, and state officials, as well as significant amount of material never before released to the public.

History of Detroit and the present-day motor city

Thompson's 2001 book, ''Whose Detroit? Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City'' is a regularly cited account of the

history of Detroit Detroit, the largest city in the state of Michigan, was settled in 1701 by French colonists. It is the first European settlement above tidewater in North America., p. 56. Founded as a New France fur trading post, it began to expand during the 19 ...

during the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s. It is a comprehensive account of police brutality against marginalized groups, and the black political reaction to it in this period, as well as the underlying reasons for why Detroit became such a crucial site of black political activism and black political power after 1973. The book was published by

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in th ...

and a new edition was published in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Detroit riot of 1967. This updated edition addresses issues currently facing Detroit as well as the city's recent

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and the current challenges the city faces thanks to record rates of incarceration.

Publications

Books

* Thompson, '' Blood in the Water: The Attica Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy'' (Pantheon Books, 2016). . * Thompson, ed. ''Speaking Out: Protest and Activism in the 1960s and 1970s'' (Prentice Hall, 2009). * Thompson, ''Whose Detroit: Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City'' (Cornell University Press, 2001/2017).

Articles

* Thompson,
How Attica's Ugly Past is Still Protected
, ''Time'', May 26, 2015. * Thompson,
How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America
, ''The Atlantic'', October 7, 2013. * Thompson,
Rethinking Working Class Struggle through the Lens of the Carceral State: Toward a Labor History of Inmates and Guards
, ''Labor: Studies in the Working Class History of the Americas'' (Fall, 2011). * Thompson,

, Op-ed, ''The New York Times'', September 9, 2011. * Thompson,
Why Mass Incarceration Matters: Rethinking Crises, Decline and Transformation in Postwar American History
, ''Journal of American History'' (December 2010).

Awards and recognition

*Winner

Pulitzer Prize in History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

, 2017. *Winner Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy, 2017 *Winner Ridenhour Book Prize, 2017. *Winner J. Willard Hurst Book Prize in Socio-Legal History, 2017. *Law and Literature Prize, 2017 *Cundill Prize in History, Longlist, 2017. *Honorable Mention. Silver Gavel Award.

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

. March 2017. *Finalist ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize 2017. ''Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy'' February 2017. (announcement of award, April 2017) *Winner. Book Prize.

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

. January 2017 *''Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy'' named on 14 "Best Books of 2016" lists, including those compiled by ''The New York Times'', ''Newsweek'', ''Kirkus Review'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Publishers Weekly'', ''Bloomberg'', the Marshall Project, the ''Baltimore City Paper'', ''Book Scroll'', and the ''Christian Science Monitor''. Additionally, ''Blood in the Water'' was named on the Best Human Rights Books of 2016 list, and received starred reviews from ''Library Journal'', ''Kirkus'', and ''Publishers Weekly''. *Finalist for the

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five U.S. annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists ...

2016. ''Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy''. October 2016 *Finalist, 2015 J. Anthony Lukas Award for Best Work-in-Progress in Non-Fiction,

Columbia School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...

, March 2015. * Finalist, 2014 Media for a Just Society Awards for Magazine Article: "How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America" ''The Atlantic'', National Council for Crime and Delinquency.http://www.nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/content/mjs-finalists-2014.pdf * Appointed Distinguished OAH Lecturer, Organization of American Historians, 2013. * Most Distinguished Scholarly Article Award for "Rethinking Working Class Struggle Through the Lens of the Carceral State: Toward a Labor History of Inmates and Guards", ''Labor: Studies in Working Class History of the Americas'' (Fall, 2011). Awarded by the Labor Movements Section. The American Sociological Association. * Best Article in Urban History Award for "Why Mass Incarceration Matters: Rethinking Crisis, Decline, and Transformation in Postwar American History", ''

Journal of American History ''The Journal of American History'' is the official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', the official j ...

'' (December 2010). Awarded by Urban History Association, 2011. * Soros Justice Fellowship, The Open Society Institute, 2006-2007. *

Rockefeller Archive Center The Rockefeller Archive Center is an independently operated foundation that was initially established to serve as a repository for the records of Rockefeller University and various Rockefeller family philanthropy projects. Until 2008, it was a divis ...

Research Grant,

The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, 2004. * Research Fellowship,

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, 2000-2001.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Heather Ann American community activists American crime writers American criminologists Pulitzer Prize for History winners 1969 births Living people American women historians Women crime writers Writers from Detroit University of Michigan faculty Cass Technical High School alumni Princeton University alumni University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American historians 21st-century American historians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women criminologists Bancroft Prize winners Historians from Michigan