Must-watch #5: 13th

In August 2021, on our Facebook page, we published a series highlighting perspective-altering movies and TV shows we highly recommend. This is the fifth and final post from that series.

13th

In 1865, the United States adopted the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment abolished slavery across the county “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” In 2016, the documentary film 13th explored how the United States criminal justice system has operated since the amendment’s adoption to continually exploit Black Americans using this clause. The film defines and explores mass incarceration, the war on drugs, the prison-industrial complex, and other crucial topics to help viewers understand the continued persecution and disenfranchisement of Black Americans since the 13th Amendment was adopted.

Our team member said: “I always believed that people in jail and prison were there because they had done something wrong. This film showed me that that is so often just not the case.”

Trailer
Watch the full film on YouTube here
Or on Netflix here