Review of 13th (2016) by Anthony B — 09 Oct 2016
The Oscar-caliber documentary13th reveals why US prisons account for 25 per cent of the world's prisoners: a loophole in the 13th amendment, Lincoln's iconic legislation that abolished slavery and involuntary servititude, except as punishment for a crime.
The result was that after the Civil War, blacks were arrested in large numbers, often for trivial offenses, and put to work in chain gangs. Today, the US prison population is still overwhelmingly black, and in many states is hired out at a fraction of the going rate, in a form of modern-day slavery.
13th also shows how Republicans used subterfuge to win the presidency in 1968. Citing "crime" (code for "black") as justification for his law and order ticket, Nixon got elected just four years after passage of the Civil Rights Act.
A must-see doc. 13th should be shown in every school, so our kids know what really happened.
This review of 13th (2016) was written by Anthony B on 09 Oct 2016.
13th has generally received very positive reviews.
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