Shocking Pattern Of Criminalization In 13TH, By Ava Duvernay

733 Words2 Pages

Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13TH reveals shocking pattern of criminalization that surrounds black communities. The horrors of slavery are common knowledge, but what Americans need to understand is that the systems put in place in that era still effect black Americans, and racial issues were not solved with ending slavery. Police brutality, the prison industrial complex, and the portrayal of people of color in the media are issues that continue to plague our country. The title, 13TH, refers to the 13th amendment of the constitution, which abolished slavery and guaranteed freedom for all Americans. However, a loophole in the law strips convicted criminals of their freedom. Slavery was an economic institution, and once it ended the southern economy …show more content…

The film effectively communicates the struggles of that period, using images and footage. Grisly photos of victims like Emmet Till show the true violence of that time. There are also inspiring videos of MLK, Malcolm X, and multiple protests. Perhaps the most surprising is the footage of our country’s leaders and the opinions they had. Basically, there was a jump in crime in America around the same time as the civil rights movement, so obviously activists were blamed. Nixon’s answer was a pattern of mass incarceration, under the guise of “law and order”. His war on crime was largely targeted at black panthers, women’s rights groups and other progressive crowds. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people,” said John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s advisor. Their plan was to associate black people with heroin and other drugs, and then publically declare war on drug addicts, naming them the largest threat to the nation. Ronald Regan amplified the trend. Government programs designed to assist the poor were …show more content…

The prison population continued to skyrocket throughout Bill Clinton’s presidency. He acknowledges that his 1994 crime bill made the situation worse, but at that point it was too late. What was shocking about this documentary was the blatancy of the discrimination, even by political figures. The media is a huge factor when it came to public opinion on minorities; Cops and other shows, including local news, are far more likely to broadcast arrests of black males than any other group, delicately influencing public opinion. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are exposed in this documentary; footage revels that sadly, even today’s powerful figures buy into the lie that black people are murderous, criminal beasts. This documentary also showed many of the things discussed in section 3 of our textbook, like institutions in place designed to keep the poor from success. It focused mainly on the discriminatory side, like the topics in section 4 revealing how the black community is especially targeted. Our judicial system is an example of something put in place intentionally, and legally, to keep the disadvantaged down. George Zimmerman was asked by a dispatcher to stop pursuing Treyvon Martin. The “Stand Your Ground”

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