With '13th,' Ava DuVernay Breaks Down the Racism of Mass Incarceration in a Way That Everyone Can Understand

Director Ava DuVernay speaks at the 54th New York Film Festival Opening Night Gala Presentation and "13th" World Premiere with Intro and Q&A at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on September 30, 2016 in New York City.

Ava DuVernay's comprehensive, damning mass incarceration documentary,"13th," dropped October 7th at select theaters and on Netflix. The film breaks down the history, politics and socioeconomic conditions surrounding the sharp expansion of private and public incarceration, a system that has had a devastating impact on communities of color.

That "13th" features prominent mass incarceration opponents such as "The New Jim Crow" author Michelle Alexander and the Center for Media Justice executive director Malkia Cyril, is no surprise. But the film, which takes its name from a 13th Amendment caveat that strips incarcerated people of basic rights, also includes revealing interviews with previous and current supporters of the of the racist system.

One current proponent, Maryland State Senator Michael Hough, is a member of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), the right-wing policy factory with a history of advancing private prison expansion, tougher policing and a host of other policies condemned in "13th." Without regard to the potentially devastating results, Hough praises ALEC's new push for the at-home GPS monitoring of juvenile offenders. The idea is "great" he says, because it "forces parents to take responsibility and step up."

In a brief phone interview with DuVernay hours after "13th's" premiere at the New York Film Festival, the "Selma" and "Queen Sugar" director discussed the importance of preventing new iterations of mass incarceration, the role streaming services play in distributing important films to the public, Colin Kaepernick and more. Check out her thoughts before you watch "13th," then, as she says, tell a friend.

By Sameer Rao

From Colorlines: News for Action