Netflix has teamed up with Ava DuVernay, director of “Selma”, to create a fascinating new documentary that looks at a connection between the end of slavery with the 13th Amendment and the high incarceration rates of black men today. DuVernay explores racial relations and how the government dealt with issues like segregation, crime rates, and employment from the late 1800s all the way to 2016. She also looks at the number of prisoners in the United States during that period, which skyrockets exponentially in the 1980s. It’s easy to follow, to the point, and much more informative than your latest binge-watching choice (mine was HIMYM). If you really can’t think of any reason to watch it, here are nine:
1. It’s not about the election.
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I understand that it does show certain people acting a certain way at a one of a certain candidate’s rallies, but the point was not to convince voters to swing one way or the other. And whether it is or is not subliminally sending messages to vote for a specific party, making the entire documentary about the election would take away from the importance of its actual message. The documentary looks at the institutions of slavery and racism in this country and how those parallel to the high incarceration rates of black men in the United States today.
2. It’s not liberal propaganda.
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Please see the first bullet but also read an article from the LA Times that talks about the director, Ava DuVernay’s, response to Democratic politicians trying to use clips from the movie: “…not made as political propaganda.”
3. The United States’ population represents 5% of the global population and at least 20% of the prison population.
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The exact percentage may change because of issues in reporting from countries like North Korea, as well as the fact that the data is from 2013. But the International Centre for Prison Studies, based in England, cites this as the most current data; and it is still the most comprehensive list of this type. Even if the numbers are a little off, the United States is still far ahead of any other country in terms of number of prisoners.
4. Systemic or institutionalized racism is a real issue.
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The documentary shows step-by-step through American history how the way our government and society dealt with race almost directly resulted in many of the racial issues that we have today, especially the high incarceration and recidivism rates among black men. Whether you agree that racism is a problem in the U.S. or not, DuVernay makes some points that are difficult to ignore.
5. This is a problem that goes back to the creation of the 13th Amendment, which made slavery illegal.
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It started with police arresting black men and women for petty crimes, and then evolved into Jim Crow laws in the South. It continued on as deep-rooted segregation and violence on both sides through the Civil Rights Movement. It became a war on a drugs, a war on crime, a war on poverty…
6. There are a lot of reasons why the number of blacks and minorities in poor neighborhoods is often disproportionately high…
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High numbers of blacks living in poor, often gang-controlled neighborhoods that are difficult to leave
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Poor education systems with teachers and schools that don’t have enough money, resources, or time to make sure each child is getting the attention he or she needs
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Parents who are working multiple jobs don’t have the time to help their kids try and have better lives
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A higher education system that works against them by preferring people from better neighborhoods and having astronomically high costs
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Huge drug influence not just from other people but also from the media and Hollywood, which tells the teenagers living there that that is what society expects from them
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Not enough money to keep food on the table, so teenagers and young adults have to turn to other, less legal options to try and survive
7. …and none of them are because those groups don’t want to work for what they have.
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Are there people who take advantage of the system? Of course; they’re always going to be there. But writing off an entire group of people because of the actions of a few is a naïve, inflexible way to look at the world. And those few exist in every group! There are always people of every race, religion, and gender who are trying to work the system and do as little for society as possible, but that does not mean that everybody is like that.
8. There was and still are inconsistencies in the legal punishments given to whites versus nonwhites.
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The documentary talks about the disparity between punishments given to black men found with crack and white men found with cocaine. Today, the example that we have are the differences in treatment of black people by police officers and the high number of killings.
9. This is an issue that is relevant to us right now.
- We have an election. We have officers dying in the streets. We have blacks and minorities being killed by gangs and authorities alike. We have more prisoners than any other country and also one of the highest recidivism rates in the world. There is an issue, and DeVernay presents a fascinating argument about where that issue originated and how we can fix it. Having one perspective couldn’t hurt, especially right now.