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13TH (2016) Research Paper

By Matthew Tiszenkel

13TH (2016), Ava DuVernay’s Oscar nominated documentary, challenges the wording of

the 13th Amendment to the U.S. constitution, asserting that it allows for the extension of

slavery into America today. This film explores how the American prison system, fueled by a

racist and capitalist agenda, keeps people of color oppressed, while padding the pockets of the

American capitalist elite. Upon considering the steady rise in the U.S. prison population over

the last four decades, the overrepresentation of people of color in that population and the

continued militarization of America’s police force, it grows abundantly clear that America’s

judicial system was never designed to rehabilitate. Instead, it serves to obfuscate the continued

utilization of the highly profitable slave economy, while systematically oppressing people of

color.

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. constitution marked a major victory for African

Americans, upon its ratification in 1865. This amendment formally abolished slavery across the

United States. It states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 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” (Primary Documents). Therein lies the problem, “except

as punishment for crime.” This is the basis behind the narrative, and name, of the film 13TH

(2016). Essentially, America took a massive population of slaves, freed them overnight and

included the caveat that if these newly freed men become incarcerated for a crime, they may,

once again, fall subject to life as a slave. Naturally, exploitation of this loophole occurred almost

immediately through mass arrests of African Americans for minor crimes like loitering and
vagrancy (Turan, 2016). This major loophole was only the start of a new economic system that

rewards the incarceration of people of color.

After the turn of the century, in 1915, D.W. Griffith’s film, The Birth of a Nation, swept

the nation, introducing the myth of black criminality and glorifying the Ku Klux Klan (13TH,

2016). This idea that black men are dangerous criminals, who pose a threat to white women,

helped enforce Jim Crow laws and keep Black men incarcerated and working until the civil

rights movement began in the 1950s. According to the film, Emmett Till’s mother’s decision to

make his funeral open casket and to allow the publication of Emmet’s pictures was largely

responsible for the call to action that became the civil rights movement. It is horrifying to think

that not even one generation has passed since Jim Crow laws were in effect. Although, as the

older generation passes on, hopefully, the mistreatment of people of color will die with them.

One of the film’s speakers posits that the civil rights movement had the unique effect of

shifting the public outlook on arrests to a noble consequence of fighting for one’s beliefs.

Unfortunately, the crime spike during the civil rights movement made it very easy for politicians

draw a correlation between crime and the movement, painting the activists as violent criminals

and enemies of the state (13TH, 2016). Shortly after, through animated white text, the film

informs the viewer that in 1970 the U.S. Prison population was 357,292. Then, Nixon declared

his war on crime which started the rapidly accelerated the growth of the U.S. prison population

to its 2014 size of 2.3 million. Nixon knew that by declaring his war on crime, he was declaring

war on black people.

Actions have consequences and the consequence of the popularity of Nixon’s war on

crime was its use as a presidential campaign platform for the next 20 years. In 1980, the prison
population reached 513,000. However, that was not good enough for Regan, he knew he had to

be tougher on crime. With crack cocaine spreading like wildfire through communities of color, it

was an easy target. With the help of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Regan

introduced mandatory sentencing for 1 oz of crack cocaine equivalent to 100 oz of powdered

cocaine (13TH, 2016). Considering cocaine is more expensive and commonly used by white

people, while crack saw more use by poorer people of color, it appears obvious that the goal of

these mandatory sentences was to incarcerate and enslave more people of color. If this context

does not provide enough evidence, consider that the prison population raised by almost 48% to

759,100 between 1980 and 1985.

George H W Bush won the presidential race by selling the idea that he would be tough

on black crime. He plastered the picture of an African American murderer, Willie Horton, who

his opponent allowed out of prison on a weekend pass. This proved to be essential to his

winning the election, as before this ad Dukakis was poling over bush two to one. Much of the

country loved seeing black people depicted as criminals all over the media and could not wait

to have another president who would lock them up. One year into his presidency, the prison

population had skyrocketed to 1,179,200. Interestingly, it was not until Bill Clinton’s presidency

that the industrial prison complex really started to get out of hand.

Bill Clinton, learning from the successes of the Republican party, decided that to win the

Presidential race, he had to take a firm public stance against crime. Enlisting the help of his

associates at ALEC, Clinton enacted the 1994 Federal Crime Bill which allocated Federal funding

to build prisons and to put 100,000 police on the streets. This bill was likely the most harmful

piece of legislature to hit the black community since the abolition of slavery because it
militarized the U.S. police. In a criminal system rooted in racism, putting that many police on

the street was bound to increase the prison population, and racial tensions, to record highs. By

the end of his presidency, the prison population exceeded 2 million, 878,400 of those being

African American. This was the start of the current statistic that black men account for 6.5% of

the U.S. population but 40.2% of the U.S. prison population (13th, 2016).

While African Americans, and other people of color, are rotting away in prison,

corporate America is profiting. ALEC, mentioned above, is largely responsible for many of these

oppressive laws. ALEC is an organization where politicians and corporations meet to make

policy decisions. It is essentially a quid pro quo environment, where corporations give funding

to politicians who back legislature of their choosing. These corporations and politicians hold

secret votes to decide on what laws they might introduce to the population. For many years,

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), one of the largest private prison corporations in the

U.S., was an active member. During CCA’s membership, California’s three strike rule, strict

mandatory minimums, the 85% rule and SB1070 were all passed into law. Now that CCA left

ALEC, ALEC is acting in favor of prison reform to benefit another member, the American Bail

Coalition (ABC) (13th, 2016). Their goal is to keep people on house arrest, with ABC tracking

anklets.

After laying out how the prison system serves to oppress people of color and to profit

corporations, the film discusses the injustices once someone gets arrested. In the case of Khalif

Browder, he was held for three years waiting for his trial where is case was immediately

dropped. Were he able to post the $10,000 bail, he could have left any time. This is one of

many examples of how the system punishes the poor. Additionally, the documentary describes
the plea bargain system and how it prays on one’s fear of a mandatory minimum to keep

prisons at capacity. If someone chooses not to take a plea deal, they receive harsher sentencing

upon a conviction at trial (13th, 2016).

One in three American black men will go to prison in their lifetime, compared to one in

seventeen white men. This fact is clearly the result of a targeted initiative to lock up and

enslave black men, dating back to the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Regardless of one’s

criminal status, everyone should receive the same basic human rights. Ultimately, the only way

to enact change is to band together and make sure the politicians in charge understand that

America will not give up until everyone receives equal treatment under the law.
Bibliography

DuVernay, Ava, director. 13TH. Kandoo Films, 2016.

Butler, Bethonie. “Ava DuVernay's Netflix Film '13th' Reveals How Mass Incarceration Is an

Extension of Slavery.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 Oct. 2016,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/10/06/ava-

duvernays-netflix-film-13th-reveals-how-mass-incarceration-is-an-extension-of-

slavery/?utm_term=.632ea53b9a89.

“13th (2016).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt5895028/.

“Primary Documents in American History: 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” Virtual

Services Digital Reference Section, United States Library of Congress,

www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/13thamendment.html.

Turan, Kenneth. “Ava DuVernay's Documentary '13th' Simmers with Anger and Burns with

Eloquence.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2016,

www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-13th-review-20161001-snap-

story.html.

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