class notes - documentary 13th

The documentary 13^th is based on the racial disparities dating back to slavery that extend into the era of mass incarceration. Mass incarceration is an era that began in the early 1970’s and runs into the present. 13^th begins dialogue on the controversy of the loophole that is within the 13^th amendment which 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." Beginning with slavery, the documentary unfolds the chain reaction that has led to the current era of mass incarceration. The opening statement in the documentary states this, “The United States is home to 5% of the worlds population but 25% of the worlds prisoners. ¼ prisoners in the world are locked up in the United States.” Unfortunately the issue is said to be from a chain reaction of events so large, reducing that number is nearly impossible. Because the 13^th amendment grants the legality of slavery through criminals, it has been used as a tool against the prison population for the greater benefit of the government and all who are associated. When slavery was abolished in 1865, the economic crisis began to take its toll on the people who had previously benefitted from the Africans who were forced to work for them. The American government now needed a new way to raise the economy in spite of this crisis and slavery seemed to be the best option. After the civil war, the 13^th amendment was exploited and people were being arrested for minor crimes such as loitering and vagrancy and criminalized for economic benefit. Because of the 13^th amendment loophole that granted the prospect of economic benefit through enslaving criminals, the African American people went from free people to slaves once again in a matter of seconds. The blacks were becoming this stereotype of criminal intent they did not deserve. This then became a notion perceived all too often we see today. The black Americans became these horrid figures that were perceived as criminal and with the up-rise of the KKK there was a series of lynching in the south that cause the African Americans to flee to the cities we see them today such as Chicago, Detroit, and Harlem. Segregation soon followed because of this fear of black people and civil rights activists began to start movements in up-rise against this oppression. Many ties we look at these activists as heroes but they were demonized and portrayed as criminals that violated the laws in the south. The civil rights movement began to pick up speed around the same time that crime rates began to rise in the United States giving politicians leverage allowing them to claim that somehow the movement had to do with these rising crime rates. President Nixon began the law and order era, which was a fight against crime turned fight against black political movements, and other liberation movements. Drug abuse became “America’s public enemy number 1” according to Nixon and was intended to disrupt the black community. When Ronald Reagan was elected, the war on drugs became literal in 1982 and the crisis in the economy was highly evident.  When crack cocaine became introduced into the market, it took over and the criminal penalties increased. The war on drugs influentially increased the prison population and provided profit for companies that are supplied by prison laborers.  Unfortunately the fact that corporations were benefitting from prisoners labor, this meant a lot of people wanted to keep [prisoners imprisoned. Innocent people await trial for long periods of time and are faced with the choice of pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit in order to avoid facing conviction of a longer sentence. The problem with t eh prison system is that people are being locked away and little to nothing is done to rehabilitate them. Instead, their liberty Is taken away, and they are punished for heir crimes. The prison system does not prepare people for the real world and many people end up living worse off than they were inside of the prison. In America it is not enough to repay your debt but you must be shunned from society and your past will follow you wherever you go.