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Involuntary Servitude In The Film 13th, By Ava Duvernay

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"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." - Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It was supposed it to be the end of the America's slave era, but it is far from over. The documentary “13th” directed by Ava DuVernay, argues that the constitution continues to be abused to this day.

The documentary is based on the 13th amendment, and how a loophole in the Constitution has been used for the benefit of the white American population. The loophole allows involuntary servitude could be used as a punishment for crime, in other words - slavery was abolished, unless you are a …show more content…

Crime played a particularly important part in Nixon's reign. He created a law and order period and crime began to stand in for race. Nixon’s presidential campaign, was on the outside a campaign against crime and drugs “if there is one area where the word “war” is appropriate, it is in the fight against crime” (Nixon, 13th15:30) But was he really was talking about, was a “war” against black political movements, the antiwar group and women and gay liberation. With this campaign he created a new era where there were a huge focus on the future and a rising outcry for law and order. Hundreds of people were thrown into prison for low-level offenses. Afterwards the Nixon administrations admitted that the “war on drugs” was all about throwing black people and other minorities in jail and make people associate them with crime and drugs “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. (...) We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or

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In the aftermath of the civil war with the union the victors political change was inevitable. The north had just won a war fought over the issue of slavery and to not address the issue permanently after their victory would be a failure on their part. Despite heated tensions and many in the south opposed to any final resolution on the subject of slavery that did rule in their favor Abraham Lincoln and his allies were able to garner enough support in congress to pass the 13th,14th, and 15th amendments. These 3 amendments clarified finally the rights established in the constitution applied to African Americans just as much as those of European descent.

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In the documentary “13th” directed by Ava Duvernay, focuses mainly on a recurring issue in society since the mid-1800’s. The documentary takes both sides and depicts the concerns and problems that many inmates face day to day. “13th” asks the question if African-Americans were actually ever truly “free” in this country. African Americans are considered free under their born rights but what “free” meant to myself through this film is, will they ever be treated equally compared to the rest of society. The opening minutes of the film started with a statistic that read, “One out of four African-American males will serve prison time at one point or another in their lives”.

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Ava DuVernay’s 13th is a documentary about how the Thirteenth Amendment led to mass incarceration in the United States, but it’s also a exploration of words of their power, their roots, their permanence. Many Americans by now are familiar with the language of the country’s racial hegemony. Some shun certain words while others make anthems out of them. The film opens with an analysis of the 13th amendment: “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.” The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

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Carter’s luxurious kingdom. “The electric lights were coming on in Mr. Carter's big white house as all the Negro shacks down in the bottom began to fade with the darkness. Once it was completely dark, the lights in Mr. Carter's house looked even brighter, like a big lighted castle. It seemed like the only house on the whole plantation”( Moody 1976, 1-3). The 13th Amendment was suppose to liberate African Americans from bondage.

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American author Mark Twain famously said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and…” Well, what follows is not exactly paramount. I was born on January 31, 2001. Exactly 136 years earlier, congress passed the 13th amendment, arguably one of the most important amendments to the U.S. constitution. It added the words “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist” to the sacred document, forever changing the future of America.

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The “13th” is a documentary about the American system of incarceration and the economic forces behind racism in America especially in people of color. One of the claims that the author mentioned is that today incarceration is an extension of slavery. It is also mentioned that most of the time in society we are defined by race. In the documentary, we can see how African Americans are sentenced for many years since they are too poor to pay their fines or sometimes most of these people plead guilty to get out of jail fast. However, African Americans are separated from their families and also treated inhumanly in prisons just because they are of a particular race.

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The 13th Documentary  We can see that this documentary has been made for society to recognize that we live in a country where slavery still exists. It talks about the fact of how the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, where Blacks make approximately 40% in prison, even though they make around 12% of the U.S. population.  They were seen as "super predators" and still seem as criminals. Injustices are still made among the black community because many of them who go to prison are innocent. Whites are less likely to go to prison for the same crimes that Blacks commit.

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Angela Davis Once said “Well for one, The 13th Amendment to the constitution of the U.S. which abolished slavery, did not abolish slavery for those convicted of a crime.” Although the amendment was desperately needed it made more problems for the U.S.The thirteenth amendment was about abolishing slavery. Many people had different opinions about this amendment. The amendment affected our nation dramatically. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution says that, "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.

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“Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice. suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals” (Martin Luther King, Jr.). Based on the Constitution, equality has the possibility of being achieved because amendments can be placed in order to get closer to it. Also the Constitution has shown no discrimination to a certain group of people, and instead has tried to push the idea of equality to the next level. Although people, in the past, have been through many harsh events, the Constitution has always made a way to repair its mistakes.

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The thirteenth amendment stated that all former slaves were granted freedom. The reconstruction period, “did create the essential constitutional foundation for further advances in the quest for equality”. It laid the building blocks for the future building for civil rights not just for blacks but women and other minorities. Former slaves, “ found comfort in their family and in the churches they established”. Blacks took community in each other and bonded over the mutual idea of freedom .

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American history is built on affairs regarding freedom and equality, but negative issues thought to be conquered in the past have also become present day problems. When confronting controversial social, economic, and political topics in America today, the line between fact and opinion blurs. People across the country develop their own views on national issues, based only on personal experience and what the media tells them. Whether it be intention or ignorance, Americans are not supplied with enough information to accurately confront the major, national problems that lie just inside this country’s borders. Americans are unaware of slavery and socioeconomic issues that exist around them, which in turn presents a concern when trying to combat

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Which at first glance looks like a positive thing but once you dive deeper into what his real motives are, it's rather eye opening. Let's start with the war on crime. During this time you had the black panthers who were people fighting for civil rights, people who were fighting for women's rights, and people who were fighting for gay rights. Nixon felt the need to fight against these movements and therefore one was more likely to get arrested for attending these rallies— for committing a crime which really wasn't a crime. He strategically blinded the public to this by calling it "the war on crime".

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In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution ended the institution of slavery. After 152 years modern day slavery still exists and has evolved under a different appearance and known as “Human Trafficking” in today’s society and it still harms people all around the world .From the appearance of the labor, slavery has been an issue because it forces humans to work under bad conditions. Each year, thousands of people are trafficked across borders or internally, and exploited for cheap labor or sexual services. People are forced to work in factories, domestic work and agriculture.

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