Prisons and jails are synonymous with most cultures and institutions. However, very little is known about their origins before the genesis of what we call “mass incarceration.” This chapter utilizes the principle of “Sankofa”—a word and practice from the Akan tribe in Ghana, often represented by a bird looking back over its shoulder, to critically examine the history of prisons within the United States, beginning in Colonial America and continuing through the Attica Prison Riots of 1971. The chapter then briefly explores the growth of “mass incarceration” post Attica to today and concludes by asking the social work profession to reckon with the history of prisons and reformist reforms and embrace abolition.