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The 13th Documentary Part One Worksheet                       Name: Roshan Taneja

Certainly, let's format the information with bullet points for clarity:

THE 13th AMENDMENT (0:00- 26:52)

  • What purpose did slavery serve and what role does the 13th amendment play after abolition?
  • Slavery served as an economic system leveraging forced labor to sustain the agricultural economy in the Southern US.

  • The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime, facilitating systemic racism and mass incarceration as means of controlling and exploiting Black people.

  • What is “black criminality”?

  • A constructed stereotype falsely associating Black people with criminal behavior, used to justify discriminatory practices.

  • What crimes were Black people arrested for?

  • Minor or fabricated charges like loitering, vagrancy, or disrespecting white people, enforcing segregation and exploitation.

  • How were Black people described?

  • In dehumanizing terms, depicted as dangerous and intellectually inferior, to justify racial hierarchies.

  • What was “Birth of a Nation” and its impacts?

  • A 1915 film glorifying the KKK and depicting African Americans negatively, reinforcing racist stereotypes and promoting the KKK's resurgence.

  • What is a common theme of the Black struggle?

  • The fight against systemic racism and injustice, facing continuous obstacles to equality.

MASS INCARCERATION

  • What is mass incarceration and when did its era begin?
  • The extensive increase in incarceration rates, disproportionately affecting Black communities, beginning in the 1970s.

US PRISON POPULATION

  • 1970: Approximately 357,000 | 1980: Approximately 513,000

WAR ON DRUGS

  • What was the War on Drugs and who instituted it?

  • A government initiative to reduce drug use and distribution, started by President Nixon in the 1970s and expanded by Reagan in the 1980s.

  • What did the War on Drugs do to Black families?

  • Led to disproportionate incarceration of Black individuals, tearing apart families and devastating communities.

  • What was the difference between “crack” and cocaine?

  • Crack, a smokable form of cocaine, was cheaper and led to harsher penalties for users compared to powder cocaine, typically used by more affluent whites.

  • What was the “Southern Strategy”?

  • A strategy to gain political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans.

CLASS REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

Stereotypes Slavery/Jim Crow War on Drugs
Bias/Prejudice Justified segregation and discrimination, perpetuating inequality. Justified harsh policies and incarceration, disproportionately affecting Black people.
Discrimination Rooted in racist ideologies, enforced through laws and violence. Led to racial disparities in arrests, convictions, and sentencing.
Oppression Maintained racial hierarchies and economic exploitation. Used the criminal justice system as a tool for continued oppression of Black communities.

The 13th Documentary Part Two Worksheet

26:52 - 1:09

CRIMINAL

U.S Prison Populations

  • 1980: Approximately 513,000 | 1985: Approximately 760,000

What was the phrase used to describe a whole generation?

  • The phrase often used to describe a whole generation affected by mass incarceration and its related policies is "Super Predators" indicating the significant number of primarily Black individuals who were imprisoned, thereby missing from their communities and familial roles.

What happened in the Central Park Jogger case?

  • In the Central Park Jogger case, a young white woman was attacked and raped in Central Park, New York, in 1989. Five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of the crime amid a media frenzy that was charged with racial bias. They were later exonerated through DNA evidence.

CRIMES AND LAWS

Define the following laws and what they did:

  1. 3 Strikes

  2. Imposed life sentences on repeat offenders with three or more convictions, including for minor crimes, leading to significant increases in incarceration rates.

  3. Mandatory Minimum

  4. Set fixed minimum sentences for certain crimes, notably drug offenses, removing discretion from judges to impose sentences based on circumstances and contributing to the growth of the prison population.

  5. Truth in Sentencing

  6. Required convicted individuals to serve a substantial portion of their sentences (often 85%) before being eligible for parole, leading to longer time spent in prison.

  7. Federal Crime Bill 1994

  8. Introduced by then-President Bill Clinton, this bill included measures such as the expansion of the death penalty, funding for prisons, and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. It contributed to the expansion of the prison system.

U.S Prison Populations

  • 1990: Approximately 1,148,702 | 2000: Approximately 2,000,000

What was the African American prison population in 2001?

  • In 2001, African Americans constituted a disproportionately large portion of the prison population, with estimates indicating that they made up about 900,000 of the total 2 million incarcerated individuals in the United States.

BLACK LEADERSHIP

Who were they? What happened to them?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights leader advocating for nonviolent protest. Assassinated in 1968.
Malcolm X Civil rights leader who advocated for Black empowerment and self-defense. Assassinated in 1965.
Black Panthers Organization that advocated for African American rights and self-defense. Many leaders were surveilled, imprisoned, or killed by law enforcement.
Fred Hampton Black Panther leader known for his charismatic leadership and community programs. Assassinated in 1969 by law enforcement.
Assata Shakur Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member. Convicted of murder, later escaped to Cuba and granted political asylum.
Angela Davis Activist, scholar, and leader in the movement for prison reform. Acquitted of kidnapping, murder, and criminal conspiracy charges in 1972.

TRAYVON MARTIN

Who was Trayvon Martin and what happened to him?

  • Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African American teenager who was fatally shot in 2012 in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Martin was unarmed and returning from a convenience store.

Why was George Zimmerman not arrested?

  • George Zimmerman claimed self-defense and was initially not arrested due to Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows individuals to use deadly force if they perceive a threat to their life.

What is Stand Your Ground?

  • "Stand Your Ground" laws allow individuals to defend themselves with lethal force without the duty to retreat when they believe they are in danger of bodily harm or death.

CORPORATIONS, PUNISHMENT, AND LAWS

What is ALEC? Who are some of its members?

  • The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization that drafts and shares conservative model state-level legislation for lawmakers to introduce. Members include corporations, private sector representatives, and legislators.

What is CCA? What do they do?

  • The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), now known as CoreCivic, is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers.

What was SB 1070?

  • SB 1070 is an Arizona state law enacted in 2010 that required law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of someone arrested or detained when there is "reasonable suspicion" they are not legally in the U.S.

What is ALEC doing with probation and parole?

  • ALEC has been involved in drafting legislation that affects probation and parole, aiming to privatize services and potentially extend the length of time individuals remain under supervision.

What is mass incarceration?

  • Mass incarceration refers to the substantial increase in the number of people held in prisons and jails in the United States, beginning in the late 20th century and continuing into the 21st century.

What are some companies that benefit from prison labor?

Several companies and industries benefit from prison labor, often paying incarcerated workers far below minimum wage for their work. These can include:

  • Corporations manufacturing goods: Companies that have used or benefited from prison labor include those in the manufacturing sector, producing everything from furniture to clothing.
  • Private prison companies: Companies like CoreCivic (formerly CCA) and GEO Group profit directly from operating prisons and detention centers, including through the labor of incarcerated individuals.
  • Telecommunications: Companies providing phone services to prisons often charge high rates, benefiting from exclusive contracts.
  • Agriculture: Some states use prison labor for farm work, paying inmates minimally.
  • Government and public entities: In some cases, local governments and federal agencies have used prison labor for tasks like firefighting, cleaning, and maintenance work.

The 13th Documentary Part Three Worksheet

*Warning: Contains graphic images

PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

  • How would you define the prison industrial complex?

    • The prison industrial complex refers to the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social, and political problems. It emphasizes profit and political gain over rehabilitation and justice, leading to mass incarceration.

  • What elements are involved in the prison industrial complex?

    • Private prison corporations that profit from incarcerating more people.
    • Political lobbying by these corporations to create laws that increase incarceration rates.
    • The use of prison labor, often for profit, by private and public sectors.
    • Law enforcement agencies and judicial systems that have incentives to arrest, charge, and convict.
    • Policymaking that supports the expansion of the prison system, such as mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes laws, and the war on drugs.

CRIMINAL

  • Who was Kalief Browder and what happened in his case?

    • Kalief Browder was a young Black man who was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack. He spent three years at Rikers Island without a trial, two of which were in solitary confinement. Browder was eventually released without charges, but he struggled with mental health issues and committed suicide in 2015. His case highlights the flaws in the criminal justice system, including pretrial detention and the use of solitary confinement.

  • What is the difference between a plea bargain and trial? What happens in either case?

    1. Plea bargain - An agreement in a criminal case where a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a more lenient sentence or the dropping of other charges. It can lead to innocent people accepting guilt to avoid the risk of a harsher sentence at trial.
    2. Trial - A formal examination of evidence in a court to determine guilt. Going to trial carries the risk of receiving a longer sentence if found guilty, but it is the process through which innocence can be proven.

  • Name some of the collateral consequences that result from being legally labeled a criminal.

    • Loss of voting rights, difficulty finding employment, ineligibility for public housing and assistance, social stigma, and barriers to education and licensing.

  • What is the lifetime likelihood of imprisonment for:

    • White people 1/17 Black people 1/3

ERA OF MASS INCARCERATION

  • What does the 13th amendment allow?

    • The 13th Amendment allows for slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime, leading to systems like convict leasing, Jim Crow laws, and eventually mass incarceration, all forms of racial and social control.

  • Why is it important to know the historical and cultural context of racism?

    • Understanding the historical and cultural context of racism is crucial to recognizing how systemic biases and inequalities were established and perpetuated. This knowledge is essential for addressing and dismantling these systems of oppression.

PICTURES AND NARRATIVES

  • Why do people in the documentary call for a “shock into movement”?
    • They call for a "shock into movement" to awaken the public to the realities and injustices of mass incarceration, systemic racism, and police violence, hoping to inspire action and change.
Slavery -> Convict Leasing -> Jim Crow -> Mass Incarceration  
Automatic presumption of guilt

“Police violence, that isn’t the problem in and of itself. It’s the reflection of a much larger, brutal system of racial and social control known as mass incarceration, which authorizes this kind of police violence.”
    - Michelle Alexander (1:33:20)

Emit Till

Oscar Grant

Eric Garner

Tamir Rice

Sam DuBose

Freddie Gray

Jason Harrison

Laquan McDonald

Eric Coutney Harris

Philando Castille 

BLACK LIVES MATTER

  • Why do they say “black lives matter”?

    • Asserts value of Black lives against systemic devaluation.

  • What is the movement calling for, according to this documentary?

    • End to systemic racism, police violence, mass incarceration; seeks justice, equality, humanization.

  • The opposite of criminalization is:

    • Humanization.