Ava DuVernay’s new documentary 13th explores how the thirteenth amendment led to an epidemic of mass incarceration in the United States. An epidemic of mass incarceration that heavily impeded on the black community and still does over 150 years later. So basically after ending slavery they (the United States) created a new slavery. It started with them creating ridiculous laws to imprison black men which created less competition in the workforce and it also continued to break up black families.

With the loophole being exploited and black men being jailed at rapid rates, the image the media painted of black people was and still is savage. We were and still are painted as animals, beasts, and “super predators.”

“Millions of dollars would be allocated for prisons and jails which violated the black community and a sense of fairness.” This documentary gives you a look at the world then and now and how the rights of blacks are still being violated, how laws are created (stop and frisk) but only seem to be implemented in communities of color. There are requirements to keep prisons filled and because black people aren’t the savages the media paints us to be they have to find a way to criminalize everything we do in order to keep this $1.7 billion private sector (prison system) afloat.

Make sure you watch this documentary on Netflix!