![]() ![]() That the Civil Rights era explicitly reclaimed the act of getting arrested simply underscores the notion that police harassment has always been a major part of black life in America. Or, to put a finer point on it, per New Jersey Senator Cory Booker: “Right now, we now have more African-Americans under criminal supervision than all the slaves back in 1850s.” That fact is more shocking when you consider that African-American men make up only about 6.5 percent of the U.S. Of that number, 40.2 percent are African-American men. ![]() Around 2.3 million Americans are currently incarcerated. As President Obama reminds us in an audio clip at the documentary’s start, this country is home to five percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. It’s no secret that the United States is a world leader when it comes to putting its people behind bars. That bit in italics is what concerns DuVernay, a clause that has long offered a massive loophole to those who seek to exploit it. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s new documentary, available to stream this Friday via Netflix, is called 13th, as in the 13th amendment, the one that formally abolished slavery in the United States, and, at least in theory, granted freedom to all Americans.īut for a crucial caveat: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,” it reads, “ except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” ![]()
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