Slavery, the 13th Amendment, and Mass Incarceration: A Response to Patrick Rael

Demystifying the 13th Amendment and Its Impact on Mass Incarceration

We’re learning a lot these days about the historical roots of mass incarceration. Michelle Alexander’s wildly successful book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness now has a cinematic companion, Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13TH.” The film’s powerful overview of the crisis of mass incarceration from the Civil War to the present has earned it plaudits from critics, activists, and scholars. But we need to revisit its...

Slavery, the 13th Amendment, and Mass Incarceration: A Response to Patrick Rael

I just finished your article, “Demystifying the 13th Amendment” regarding Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13th,” and I am (pun intended) completely mystified at your thesis given that you are someone who seems to be a serious historian. While we may take issue with certain of the moves that are made in the film, such as what some have described as its use of outdated statistics and an over-emphasis on the private prison industry at the expense of...