Response

Please watch the documentary “13th” and answer the following questions in a 250+ word response

Whatever you write is ok as long as you are engaging with the subject matter and you hit the 250 word mark. Also feel free to include your own relevant experiences. 

1. 13th amendment freed slaves, but criminals were not afforded the same rights

2. ‘criminals’ supplied the free labor after slavery was abolished

3. the movie “Birth of a Nation”  told the story that white Southerners wanted to tell about the Civil War, that black men are to be feared as savages

4. blacks left American South in droves for points north and west (Detroit, Compton, Oakland, D.C.) because they were refugees from genocide

5. Jim Crow laws and segregation became the next round of legal discrimination

6. Civil rights activists (Malcolm X, MLK Jr., Fred Hampton, Medgar Evers) were considered criminals at the time and were wanted by F.B.I.

(All of these men were assassinated, by the way)

7. war on drugs and war on crime — these laws essentially targeted communities of color as a political campaign strategy

8. crack vs. cocaine — how drug offenses were litigated fell along racial lines. Harsh punishments for crack offenses, but lenient slaps on the wrist for cocaine offenses.9. 1994 crime bill — 3 felony strikes law and mandatory sentences put generations of black and brown people in jail for life

10. popularization of idea of super predators/ parading black men in handcuffs on news every night

11. Trayvon Martin/ George Zimmerman — “Stand Your Ground” law

12. ALEC/ CCA or Corrections Corporation of America

13. horrific story of Kalief Browder, age 16, held at Rykers Island for 3 years without trial after being accused of stealing a backpack. He was released with no charges filed, but committed suicide when he was 22 years old.