Does Slavery Still Exist in America? 13 Facts from 13th | Netflix

Summary

The video script discusses the disproportionate incarceration of Black men in the US, highlighting historical systems of racial and social control that have evolved from slavery to convict leasing, Jim Crow laws, and the current mass incarceration era. It underscores the media's role in perpetuating stereotypes and the need for societal change to address the systemic injustices faced by African Americans, emphasizing the importance of understanding Black humanity beyond the lens of criminality.

Takeaways

• 🔑 The disproportionate incarceration of Black men in the U.S. is highlighted, with them making up 6.5% of the population but 40.2% of the prison population.
• 🌐 The script discusses the historical pattern of racial and social control systems in America, which have evolved over time to maintain control over African Americans.
• 📜 Post-slavery, the convict leasing system emerged as a new form of slavery, indicating a continuity in oppressive practices.
• 🚫 The Jim Crow laws that followed convict leasing further entrenched racial segregation and the second-class status of African Americans.
• 🔄 The script notes the emergence of mass incarceration as a new system post-Jim Crow, continuing the pattern of systemic oppression.
• 👥 The media's role in perpetuating stereotypes is underscored, with Black individuals being over-represented as criminals, which is not reflective of reality.
• 📊 Shocking statistics are presented, such as one in three young Black males expected to go to jail or prison in their lifetime.
• 🏛 The script points out the lack of understanding among white Americans about the challenges faced by Black people in the U.S.
• 🛡️ Civil Rights Activists were portrayed negatively in the media and by politicians, being labeled as criminals for fighting against segregation.
• 📈 The prison population remained stable for most of the 20th century but saw a significant increase starting in the 1970s, marking the era of mass incarceration.
• 🎖️ The Civil Rights Movement is noted for its strategic use of arrests as a form of protest, redefining the notion of criminality in the public eye.
• 🕊️ The script suggests that reforms often lead to more repression rather than addressing the root causes of systemic issues.

Q & A

What percentage of the US population is made up by Black men?

Black men account for roughly 6.5% of the US population.

What percentage of the prison population in the US are Black men?

Black men make up 40.2% of the prison population in the US.

How does the number of African Americans under criminal supervision compare to the number of slaves in the 1850s?

There are more African Americans under criminal supervision now than there were slaves in the 1850s.

What is the historical pattern of racial and social control systems in America as mentioned in the script?

Throughout American history, racial and social control systems have repeatedly been controlled, died out, and then re-emerged in new forms tailored to the needs and constraints of the time.

What was the system that emerged after the collapse of slavery?

After the collapse of slavery, the convict leasing system emerged, which was a new form of slavery.

What was the system that replaced convict leasing?

The Jim Crow system replaced convict leasing, relegating African Americans to a permanent second-class status.

What is the current system in America that has parallels with past racial control systems?

The current system in America is mass incarceration, which disproportionately affects poor people of color and strips them of rights won in the Civil Rights Movement.

How are Black men portrayed in the media according to the script?

Black men are over-represented in the media as criminals, being shown more times than is statistically accurate based on FBI statistics.

What shocking statistic does the Bureau of Justice report regarding young Black males and the criminal justice system?

The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three young Black males is expected to go to jail or prison during his lifetime.

How did the Civil Rights Movement transform the notion of criminality?

The Civil Rights Movement turned getting arrested into a noble act by voluntarily defining a movement around it, which was a significant shift from the fear associated with being arrested by white people.

What term was used during the Nixon era to describe the approach to crime, which was also a code word for racial politics?

The term used during the Nixon era was 'war on crime,' which was a code word for addressing racial politics, particularly the Black political movements of the day.

What is the general outcome for individuals once they are arrested and convicted according to the script?

Once someone is arrested and convicted, they often become marginalized and are not given much attention or care within society.

What is the criticism of the current prison system in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration into society?

The prison system is criticized for doing very little to rehabilitate inmates, making it difficult for them to re-enter civil society after their release.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 Mass Incarceration and the Historical Struggle for Black Americans

This paragraph discusses the disproportionate representation of Black men in the U.S. prison system, highlighting the systemic racial and social control mechanisms that have evolved over American history. It points out that despite the end of slavery, new oppressive systems like convict leasing and Jim Crow laws emerged, followed by the current mass incarceration crisis. The paragraph emphasizes the media's role in perpetuating stereotypes of Black men as criminals and the historical context of civil rights activism being portrayed negatively. It also touches on the Nixon era's 'war on crime' as a coded response to Black political movements and the need for systemic change beyond mere reform.

05:00

🕯️ The Overlooked Consequences of Incarceration

The second paragraph delves into the societal indifference towards those who have been arrested and convicted, describing the prison system as being out of public view and thus easier to ignore. It critiques the current legal system for incarcerating too many people for too many offenses with excessively harsh sentences and inadequate rehabilitation efforts. The paragraph also addresses the racial bias in the criminal justice system, particularly its impact on Black leadership and the challenges they face due to systemic racism.

Keywords

💡Mass Incarceration

Mass incarceration refers to the phenomenon where a large number of people are imprisoned, particularly in the United States. It is a central theme in the video, illustrating how the U.S. prison population has grown disproportionately large, especially affecting African Americans. The script mentions that 'a system of mass incarceration...strips millions of poor people, overwhelmingly poor people of color, of the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement.'

💡Racial Control

Racial control in the script denotes historical systems implemented to subjugate African Americans, such as slavery and Jim Crow laws. It is a key concept that the video discusses to show the evolution of societal structures aimed at controlling African Americans. The script states, 'African Americans have repeatedly been controlled through systems of racial and social control.'

💡Convict Leasing

Convict leasing was a system that emerged post-slavery, where African Americans, often falsely accused, were leased to private entities for labor. It is highlighted in the video as a form of 'new slavery' that continued the exploitation of African Americans after the formal end of slavery. The script describes it as 'a new form of slavery' that arose 'after the collapse of slavery.'

💡Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow laws were racial segregation statutes enacted in the Southern U.S. after the Civil War, which enforced a system of apartheid. The video uses this term to illustrate the legal framework that perpetuated racial inequality and the second-class status of African Americans. The script refers to it as a system that 'relegated African Americans to a permanent second-class status.'

💡Criminal Supervision

Criminal supervision encompasses the various forms of monitoring and control exerted over individuals through the criminal justice system. The video uses this term to emphasize the extent of surveillance and control over African Americans, exceeding the number of slaves in the 1850s. The script notes, 'We now have more African Americans under criminal supervision than all the slaves back in the 1850s.'

💡Over-Representation

Over-representation in the context of the video refers to the disproportionate depiction of African Americans as criminals in the media compared to their actual involvement in crime. It is used to discuss media bias and its impact on public perception. The script points out, 'Black people, Black men and Black people in general, are over-represented in news as criminals.'

💡Dog-Whistle Politics

Dog-whistle politics is a political strategy where coded language is used to appeal to a particular group without explicitly stating the intended message. The video uses this term to describe Nixon's 'war on crime' rhetoric, which was indirectly targeting Black political movements. The script explains it as 'code words...which really was referring to the Black political movements of the day.'

💡Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a struggle for social justice to secure legal rights for African Americans in the U.S. The video discusses how the movement cleverly used the idea of being arrested as a form of protest to challenge racial injustice. The script mentions, 'the most brilliant tactics of the Civil Rights Movement was this transformation of the notion of criminality.'

💡Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation in the context of the video refers to the process of preparing prisoners to reintegrate into society after serving their sentences. It is highlighted as a lacking aspect of the current prison system, which contributes to recidivism. The script criticizes the system for doing 'very little, if anything to rehabilitate them.'

💡Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs. The video implies that the public's ease in supporting harsh prison sentences may stem from cognitive dissonance, as it avoids confronting the systemic issues. The script suggests it is 'easier cognitively and emotionally to say, send people there.'

💡Systemic Oppression

Systemic oppression refers to the ways in which societal structures perpetuate discrimination and inequality. The video discusses the historical progression of oppressive systems, such as slavery and Jim Crow, leading to the current state of mass incarceration. The script reflects on how these systems have 'steamrolled through entire communities and multiple generations.'

Highlights

Black men make up 6.5% of the US population but account for 40.2% of the prison population.

More African Americans are under criminal supervision today than there were slaves in the 1850s.

Throughout American history, systems of racial and social control have been reborn in new forms to control African Americans.

Convict leasing emerged after slavery as a new form of slavery.

The Jim Crow system relegated African Americans to a second-class status.

Mass incarceration is a new system that strips rights from poor people of color, similar to past oppressive systems.

African Americans are over-represented in the media as criminals, which is not an accurate reflection of reality.

The prison population in the US remained stable for most of the 20th century before mass incarceration took hold in the 1970s.

Civil Rights Activists were portrayed as criminals by the media and some politicians.

Abraham Lincoln's quote about no one being above or below the law highlights the importance of a nation of laws.

The Civil Rights Movement transformed the notion of criminality by making being arrested a noble act.

The Nixon era used 'law and order' and 'war on crime' as code words for targeting Black political movements.

Efforts to create reforms often lead to more repression rather than meaningful change.

The prison system is often overlooked, making it easier to send people there without considering the consequences.

The US has too many laws that result in harsh sentences and little rehabilitation for those in prison.

The story of Black leadership in America cannot be told without addressing the impact of the criminal justice system.

The transcript highlights the ongoing struggle for African Americans to be recognized as full, complicated human beings beyond stereotypes of criminality and threat.

Transcripts

(dramatic music)

- [Man] Black men account for roughly 6.5%

of the US population.

They make up 40.2% of the prison population.

- We now have more African Americans

under criminal supervision

than all the slaves back in the 1850s.

- Throughout American history,

African Americans have repeatedly be controlled

through systems of racial and social control

that appear to die,

but then are reborn in new form

tailored to the needs and constraints of the time.

You know, after the collapse of slavery,

a new system was born, convict leasing,

which was a new form of slavery.

Once convict leasing faded away,

a new system was born.

A Jim Crow system that relegated African Americans

to a permanent second class status.

And here we are, decades after the collapse

of the old Jim Crow,

and a new system has been born again in America,

a system of mass incarceration that once again,

strips millions of poor people,

overwhelmingly poor people of color,

of the very rights supposedly won

in the Civil Rights Movement.

- If you looked at the history of

Black people's various struggles in this country,

the connecting themes is the attempt to be understood

as full complicated human beings.

We are something other than this

visceral image of criminality and menace and threat,

to which people associate with us.

- When you cut on your local news at night,

you see Black men being paraded

across the screen in handcuffs.

- Black people, Black men and Black people in general

are over-represented in news as criminals.

When I say over-represented,

that means they are shown as criminals

more times than is accurate

that they are actually criminals, right?

Based on FBI statistics.

- [Man] The Bureau of Justice reported that one in three

young Black males is expected to go to jail

or prison during his lifetime,

which is an unbelievably shocking statistic.

- The objective reality is that virtually no one

who is white understands the challenge

of being Black in America.

- Civil Rights Activists began to be portrayed in the media

and among many politicians as criminals,

people who are deliberately violating the law,

segregation laws that existed in the South.

- The prison population in the United States

was largely flat throughout most of the 20th century.

It didn't go up a lot, it didn't come down a lot,

but that changed in the 1970s,

and in the 1970s, we began an era which has been defined

by this term, mass incarceration.

- This is a nation of laws,

and as Abraham Lincoln has said,

"No one is above the law, no one is below the law."

- I think one of the most brilliant tactics

of the Civil Rights Movement was this transformation

of the notion of criminality.

Because for the first time,

being arrested was a noble thing.

Being arrested by white people was your worst nightmare.

Still is for many African Americans.

So what they did, they voluntarily defined a movement

around getting arrested.

They turned it on its head.

- It's with the Nixon era and the law and order period

when crime begins to stand in for race.

- If there is one area where the word war is appropriate,

it is in the fight against crime.

- Part of what he talked about was a war on crime,

but that was one of those code words,

what we might call dog-whistle politics now,

which really was referring to

the Black political movements of the day,

Black power, Black Panthers, the anti-war movement,

the movements for women's liberation

and gay liberation at that time,

which Nixon felt compelled to fight back against.

- Historically, when one looks at efforts

to create reforms, they inevitably lead to more repression.

- And so if we leave it up to them,

what they're gonna do is they're gonna

tinker with the system,

they're not gonna do the sort of change

that we need to see as a country to get us out of this mess,

and they're certainly not gonna go backwards

and fix the mess that they've made

because they're not ready to make that admission.

But as a country, I don't think we've ever been ready

to make the admission that we have steamrolled

through entire communities and multiple generations

when you think about things like slavery

and Jim Crow and all the other systems of oppression

that have led us to where we are today.

- Once somebody is arrested and convicted, they're gone.

Nobody particularly cares about them.

In many ways, the prison system are sort of in the dark.

- So it makes it a lot easier, you know,

cognitively and emotionally,

it makes it a lot easier to say, send people there.

- If you look at the whole problem,

you say what are we doing?

We have too many laws locking too many people up

for too many things,

giving them sentences that are too harsh,

putting them in prison.

And while they're in prison,

doing very little, if anything to rehabilitate them

so that they can re-enter civil society when they get out.

- You can tell the story of white leadership in America

and never mention the FBI one time.

You can't tell the story of Black leadership,

not one, without having to deal with the full weight

of the criminal justice system

weaponizing its Black descent.