When I first watched the documentary “13th” by filmmaker Ava DuVernay in 2016, its message jarred me and remains with me 10 years later.  I recently rewatched the film to write this reflection and found the message to be even more relevant in today’s United States. 

The title “13th” refers to the 13th amendment to the US Constitution which formally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime.  The film explicitly challenges the premise that slavery and involuntary servitude has, in fact, been abolished and instead posits:  “Throughout American history, African Americans have repeatedly been 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.” A through-line is traced from slavery to convict leasing to Jim Crow, to today’s mass incarceration and released felons being stripped of citizenship rights for life.  

Each of these entrenched systems punish(ed) people of color solely or disproportionately, and financially benefit(ted) segments of the U.S. economy.  Because the people punished are often “othered” and the financial beneficiaries are powerful, the systems remain both out of sight to most of us and deeply entrenched.  

For those of us living comfortable lives untouched by this system, it’s easy to look away, but “13th” gets your attention with jaw-dropping statistics about mass incarceration, including:

• The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but roughly 25% of the world’s prisoners, giving us the highest rate of incarceration in the world.
• Black men make up 6.5% of the U.S. population but 40.2% of the prison population.  
• Even when the debt to society has been repaid and prisoners are released, the “convicted felon” label prevents them from voting and getting most jobs, leases or loans.
• The prison industrial complex is defined as mass incarceration and the people who profit from it. This includes private prison companies (should prison have a profit motive?), but also vendors like phone companies, food service, and health care, many of whom inflate prices and are paid regardless of services provided.
• Prison labor is a multi-billion dollar industry used by well-known companies. Prison labor has been equated to slave labor.

The film also counters those who would feel justified ignoring mass incarceration because “they (the prisoners) forfeited their rights by committing crimes.”  First, this ignores that we are all humans and children of God.  Secondly, “13th” provides compelling evidence that many imprisoned people are there because they are poor, not because they are guilty.  There is too much detail to describe here, but I found the arguments compelling and shocking. 

Lastly, I found the film prescient in describing immigrant detention centers as “prisons for immigrants” and raising the alarm about the privatization of them.  Just like prisons, they need to stay full to keep generating profits.  The film was made in 2016 and we can see this playing out in our country today.

I’ve only touched on the complexities the film explores. To see what resonates with you, I encourage you to watch it and if so moved, share it with your people. 

13th is streaming on Netflix.  An Oprah Winfrey interview with the filmmaker is also available on Netflix.

‍

Recommended viewing: “Going Home Like a Shooting Star:  Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood”. To watch it on YouTube; click here.

The name Thea Bowman may be a familiar one to you – mainly because many St. Dominic parishioners volunteer at the Thea Bowman Center in Cleveland’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood.  The center provides hot meals, G.E.D.training, food assistance, and other resources for the underserved population in the community.  

But how much do you know about the center’s namesake?  Sister Thea Bowman was an African-American Franciscan nun. She was an educator for a number of years and, after that, Sr. Thea was named a consultant for intercultural awareness by the Diocese of Jackson, Miss.  As a consultant, Sr. Thea challenged the Catholic Church — and society in general — to grow in racial inclusivity.  She gave presentations across the U.S. encouraging open communication among people of different races and cultural backgrounds with the goal of breaking down barriers. Sr. Thea died in 1990, and in 2018, the Diocese of Jackson, Miss., opened the cause for her canonization, giving her the designation of Servant of God, the first step toward the Church’s official recognition of a saint. At the 2018 U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops’ Fall General Assembly, the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance indicated unanimous support for the advancement of Sr. Thea’s canonization cause. On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, St. Dominic hosted a community dinner and dialogue on “Thea Bowman:  Embracing the Diversity of the Catholic Church.”  If you missed the event but would still like to view the video, please click here to view it.