Social Problems 13th Movie: Final

Civil Rights activists began to be portrayed in the media as criminals. They voluntarily defined movements about being arrested, such as the sit ins, so for the first time being arrested was seen as a noble thing.

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

The 13th amendment granted freedom to all Americans, except for criminals; and made it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a slave. So this idea that criminals are not granted freedom was exploited and African Americans were arrested in masse for minor crimes like loitering. They were then forced to provide labor in order to rebuild the economy of the south and viewed as criminals and a threat by the rest of society

What happened to African Americans immediately after the passage of the 13th amendment?

Private businesses form partnerships with prisons, in which prisoners perform free labor for these corporations. UNICOR is one of these corporations that abuses this free labor and profit from punishment.

How do companies utilize prison labor? Why is it profitable?

After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 crime rates were beginning to rise. Through the demographic change of the baby boomers, we saw an increase in the amount of crime. However, this increase of crime was blamed on the civil rights movements.

What happened to crime rates right after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Why?

The 13th amendment grants freedom to all Americans, except for criminals; and makes it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a salve. However, these prisoners are basically treated as free-labor slaves who work for the prisons which is controlled by private industries. There are private prisons, such as CCA, who make money off of the prisoners and if the money doesn't come directly from the inmates, it might come from their families on the outside who have to pay to have conversations with the prisoners. Plus, the work that the prisoners do often benefit other corporations, who go on to sell what is produced by the free labor and earn a significant profit. The 13th amendment might have abolished slavery but it just shifted into how work is exploited and set up the vast system of mass incarceration. This mass incarceration is in a system that heavily exploits vulnerable communities, normally poor communities made up of minority groups. For example, the war on drugs that wiped through black communities that dealt in crack. While rich white communities that dealt in cocaine would be charged with a much less severe charge. The liberation of slavery was supposed to allow African Americans freedom. However, throughout time white politicians have been a beacon for the enslavement of black communities through the mass incarceration. Jim Crow laws, the southern strategy, the war on drugs, and many other legislations and strategies have been made to force African Americans back into free labor.

Connect the 13th amendment to the Prison Industrial Complex using what you have learned in the reading and the film. How do we move from liberation from slavery to mass incarceration?

Mandatory minimum sentencing laws set minimum sentences for certain crimes that judges cannot lower, even for extenuating circumstances. The most common of these laws set mandatory minimum sentences for possession of a drug over a certain amount. The truth in sentencing legislation states that offenders are required to serve 85% of the prison sentence. Truth in sentencing was legislation that eliminated the idea of an early release from prison and aimed to abolish Parole. An example would be Sharanda Jones, who only has one crime on her record and it is the transportation of cocaine. However, she will serve life in prison without parole due to these legislations. Mandatory minimum of drug offenses forced unfair sentences in prison for many minorities, and then the truth in sentencing forbid them from having a chance of reducing those sentences or getting released for parole. This leads to about 97% of people taking plea bargains so they can lessen the seriousness of the charge and the sentencing, even if they did not commit the crime. Taking the plea to many people is seen as the better option since it saves them the expense of paying for a lawyer and will keep them out of jail during the time leading up to the trial. An example of this is Kalief Browder, who was charged for a petty crime of stealing a backpack. He did not take the plea deal and ended up spending 3 years in prison and 2 of those years he was in solitary confinement. Although he was released free of charge after 3 years, the years of being beaten by other prisoners and living in solitary confinement caused him to eventually kill himself. In the criminal system, it is the prosecutor that has the most power. This is because the judge has no role in the plea bargaining process or any control over mandatory minimum charges. Since 97% of the people take plea deals, this gives the judge almost no power. The prosecutor decides if you are going to go to prison and for how long. Legislators have enforced stricter laws, such as mandatory minimums and truth in sentencing, that have forced people to want to take the plea bargain.

Explain the connection between mandatory minimums, truth in sentencing, and the high rate of plea bargains in our criminal system. In this system, who has the most power: the judge, the prosecutor, or the defense attorney? Why?

After the passing of the 13th amendment, we saw a rise in the myth of black criminality. White politicians and lawmakers believed that the negro is out of control and a threat of violence towards white women. The presumption of guilt and dangerousness assigned to African Americans has made minority communities particularly vulnerable to the unfair administration of criminal justice. Entertainment and the news started criminalizing African Americans and showing arrests on live TV. One main example is the movie birth of a nation, that started the trend of representing African Americans as a criminal and a threat to white woman. Another example of this would be cops, a show that early on primarily arrested minority groups and would label them as criminals. The Civil Rights leaders were labeled as criminals. For example, The Black Panthers were labeled as the biggest threat to America and civil rights leader Angela Davis was put on FBI's top 10 most wanted fugitives. Throughout history, there was a hierarchy developed that made African Americans seem inferior to white people. This started with slavery but has not been fully resolved. Following slavery, there were many racial lynchings that were done by white southerners to protect themselves from these black "criminals." Today, Implicit biases have been shown to affect policing, especially white police officers who associate blackness with aggressive criminality. This implicit bias is seen through the relationship between law enforcement and black communities. African Americans constitute 28 percent of all arrests, even though they only take up 13% of the population, and they are 6 times more likely to end up in jail than whites. Also, they are more likely to be stopped, have harsher charging decisions, disadvantaged plea negotiations, increased risk of wrongful convictions and unfair sentences.

Explain the myth of black criminality and the presumption of guilt. What is the historical connection? How is it connected to the relationship between law enforcement and black communities today?

President Clinton employed the three strikes law, which entailed that once you commit a third felony you would be put away for good. This new system overpopulated prisons, as well as the formation of legislations such as the mandatory minimums, truth in sentencing and the 1994 crime bill. Each of these laws forced thousands of people to be incarcerated and added to the profit of this punishment. Corporations that are a part of ALEC helped President Clinton in the formation of these laws, in order to profit over the new influx of criminals.

How did President Clinton contribute to the Prison Industrial Complex?

The war on drugs started with Nixon's era of law and order, but it was Ronald Reagan who turned the rhetorical war into a literal one. This war on drugs started to make major strides when the new drug crack cocaine was introduced into poor communities of color. The sentencing for crack cocaine was an extremely harsh long sentence. On the other hand, the sentencing for powdered cocaine which was not as present in poor colored communities was much shorter. During the Reagan era, the spending on drug law enforcement tripled. Since crack cocaine could be produced in small quantities inexpensively it was present in poorer communities, especially communities of color. This enforcement caused an significant amount of arrests of long sentences that devastated poor communities.

How did the War on Drugs change from a rhetorical war to a literal war? What was the significance for poor communities and communities of color?

Since it led to the resurgence of the KKK, it also led to multiple mob killings in the south due to the fact that people believed that African Americans were criminals. This led to the fleeing of African Americans and a change in the demographic geography. In order to seek refugee they spread away from the south and went towards the northeast and west coast, specifically in Oakland, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston, and New York.

How did the movie influence the demographic geography of the African American population?

A felony conviction is a lasting conviction that affects job applications, and access to student loans, business licenses, food stamps, private rentals, life insurance.

How does a felony conviction affect the lives of people even after they have served their time?

As a result of a felony conviction, you can lose the right to vote. Once you have been branded a felon you experience political disenfranchisement, which is the ability to deprive a privilege such as immunity, right of citizenship, and especially the right to vote from someone with a conviction

How does a felony conviction connect to political disenfranchisement?

Super predators was the term media used to describe blacks, especially African Americans who were put under arrest, to dehumanize them and try and put off the idea that they are non-empathetic animals. This dehumanization allowed the the media to over represent the criminality of blacks, which was against the actual FBI statistics. Shows like cops normalized the idea of that these African American citizens are no longer seen as real human beings but just a representation of the crime that they are accused for, for example they are the rapists/murderers.

What are "super predators"? How does the concept of "super predators" connect to media over representation and the push to "get tough on crime?"

Companies, such as Securus Technologies, have profited off of the inflated prices of the telephone services used between inmates and their families. Aramark, the main prison food provider, and Corizon Healthcare, the main provider of healthcare in prisons, were offered huge long lasting contracts with huge incentives that allow them to provide a cheaper and worse service since it will not affect their overall profit. They both have been accused of mistreating prisoners, through the multiple sources of finding maggots in their food and the refusal of health care in some prisons.

What are some of the ways that for profit, prisons are monetized?

Stand your ground laws state that if you are in fear of your life, you are able to use deadly force. Zimmerman was part of the neighborhood watch and followed Trayvon Martin even after being told not to by the dispatcher. Even though Zimmerman pursued Martin, the stand your ground law allowed him to plead self-defense.

What are the Stand Your Ground laws? How did they influence Zimmerman's case after he shot Trayvon Martin?

Some of the most influential figures for black leadership include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.(assassinated in his own home), Malcolm X(assassinated) , Fred Hampton (who was killed during his sleep), Assata Shakur(put in prison, escaped to Cuba), and Angela Davis (put on the list of 10 most wanted fugitives). These leaders were seen as a threat to the nation, and specifically for the Black Panthers they were seen as the greatest threat to American during the time. This suppression and killing of the leaders of this time led to a weakness in the black political power that has still affected today.

What happened to black leadership in the 1960s and 1970s? Who did the movie identify as important figures? What happened to them? How does this affect the state of black political power today?

ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is a political lobbying group that write laws and give them to politicians, most of whom are Republicans. The members of ALEC are both politicians and corporations. For 4 decades ALEC has been allowing corporations to create laws and present them to the politicians. Nearly every single ALEC bill made has benefited it's corporate funders.

What is Alec? Who are the members? How does Alec influence laws and the criminal justice system? How does this affect the corporations that are members?

ALEC and CCA were on the task force that pushed for and innovated the law SB1070 which gave the right to police to arrest anyone that looked like an "illegal immigrant". CCA benefited from this law since it would increase the number of prisoners thus increasing the amount of money the CCA. Also, the detention facilities that are basically prisons for immigrants, including young children, were owned by CCA.

What is SB1070? How are Alec and CCA connected to SB1070?

ALEC moved away from prisons due to the fact that CCA was one of the corporations to break away from ALEC. Since they do not have to deal with a financial interest in making policies that favor CCA, they moved on to trying to privatizing probation and parole. They wanted to have a GPS system to further the abilities of parole, but this means that ALEC would have total control of the prison system that would now be embedded into our homes.

What reasons did the film give for Alec moving away from prisons and toward community corrections? What are some of the possible consequences of moving toward community corrections?

The Southern Strategy was Nixon's plan to persuade conservative southern white voters away from the Democratic party. By talking about law and order in the chaos of urban cities caused by the civil rights movement, Nixon was able to persuade racist southern democrats to join his side. Nixon associated heroine with blacks and marijuana with the hippie movement, so he could have an excuse to take down these anti-war and civil rights movements.

What was the Southern Strategy? Who used it and why?

They came up with such as the stand your ground law, three strike laws, mandatory minimums, and truth in sentencing. The Stand your ground law led to a gun sales boom which benefited corporations such as Walmart, which was the leading seller of long guns and bullets in the country. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) were the ones to put out the heavy incarceration laws, such as three strike laws, mandatory minimums, and truth in sentencing, in order to keep a steady influx of prisoners to exploit their free labor and generate the profit.

Which laws did the film attribute to Alec? How did those laws effect their corporate members?

He was a 14-year-old African-American who was attacked and beaten to death in Mississippi in 1955 after a white woman said she was offended by him in her family's grocery store. However, this was entirely false and Emmit Till was innocent. The willingness of his mother to have an open casket funeral and the publishment of the photographs of his unrecognizable face in black publications sparked the Civil Right Movement.

Who was Emmit TIll? How was his death related to the Civil Rights Movement?

The activists in the film are concerned that even though we might not have as many people in prisons, we are actually incarcerating people right in their own communities. These communities would still be under constant surveillance, but instead of profiting off of the free labor of the prisoners, ALEC is going to profit off of the GPS monitors. ALEC believes in following whatever policy is most politically convenient for them. They do not care about the morality behind their profits, as long as it is a convenient way to make the most amount of profit.

Why are some activists in the film concerned about reforms and the movement toward community corrections? What does it mean for something to be politically convenient?

Birth of a Nation was the first major blockbuster film and was held by high regards by everyone, even the president of the time. However, every image you see of a black person is a demeaning, animal-like portrayal that showed the characters being criminals, rapists, drunks, and a threat to white women. This film was almost entirely responsible for the rebirth of the KKK since they were painted in a heroic and romantic style during the film. One way how "life imitated art" was that the Klan never burned crosses, until it was shown in Birth of a Nation.

Why was the movie Birth of a Nation culturally important? What were the themes of the movie? How did "life imitate art" after Birth of a Nation?