Ava Duvernay: A Documentary Analysis

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The United States has 5% of the world population, 25% of the world’s prisoners, and about one in four prisoners are African American males. In this documentary, created by Ava Duvernay, it explains how the 13th amendment was used in the mass incarceration of mostly African Americans, as an extension of slavery. When slavery was abolished the 13th amendment loophole was immediately in use. The 13th amendment 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. 2.” The 13th amendment made it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a slave, it gave freedom to everyone except for criminals. They used this loophole to falsely incarcerate black people so they could lose their freedom. When slavery was abolished the economy was left devastated, because the people who use to be consider property were now considered humans with freedom. So black people were incarnated so their freedom would be deny and they could be used as slaves again to rebuild the economy after the civil war. …show more content…
The 13th amendment was passed about 100 years ago, but it is still affecting the African American community today. In the documentary it spoke about a 22 year old male name Kalief Browder. Browder was 16 when he was arrested for robbery he didn’t committed. His bail was set for $3000, but his family couldn’t afford to bail him out. Browder ended up in Riker prison for 3 years awaiting trial. Browder was released in 2013 and committed suicide in

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