13th documentary paper.docx - Mumford 1 Jacqueline Mumford,...

Mumford
Jacqueline Mumford, UF ID: 6665-2786
Professor Stafford
POS 3606
10 February 2017
Except as Punishment of Crime
The Constitution of the United States, under the provisions of the Thirteenth
Amendment, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a
crime (amend. XIII, sec. I). Many Americans are unware of the latter half of this section,
led to believe that the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and that is it. American
history in this country is not taught in a way that explains the flaws and loopholes in the
system created by former lawmakers and leaders with hate ingrained into their core
values. Rather, the history of this country is relayed in a one-sided manner, only
showcasing what the government is proud of, and masking the racial inequality that still
plagues this nation. The documentary 13 th , directed by Ana DuVernay, analyzes the rising
rate of incarceration and the alarming number of African Americans victimized by post-
Civil War legislation and its backlash. The documentary also puts an emphasis on the
rights, or lack thereof, of the accused in the United States.
The backlash African Americans faced after the ratification of the Thirteenth
Amendment was unbeknown to me before my viewing of 13 th . After the Civil War,
African Americans were arrested in massive amounts as a way for the white males of the
country to get around the freeing of slaves and acceptance, by the Constitution, of
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Mumford
African Americans as citizens and human beings. African Americans during this time
period were arrested for the most minor of offenses, which in turn allowed them to be
exploited and dehumanized once again, but this time under the term “inmate labor,”