Film Comment:
The Injustice System in America
According to the American Bureau of Justice, 49% of all prison inmates in the US are African American, yet this group makes up only 13% of the general population. Hispanics account for 17% of the prison population, although they represent only 10% of the total population. Is this some kind of coincidence? Or could racism and the for-profit prison system in America have something to do with this imbalance? Most prison inmates are incarcerated for drug use, not drug sales. Investing in drug prevention and treatment programs would be a logical response. But building, owning and operating prison facilities is a profit making business in America and some people are lining their pockets with gold in the name of fighting crime. The real crime is the racial profiling that sees people of color being convicted and jailed at rates that simply do not mirror actual criminal activity across all socio-economic classes. Those who are most likely to be arrested and jailed are those who are least able to mount adequate legal defense (which is expensive and not guaranteed by law). America, a land of equal opportunity and equal rights?
Credits
Original Title: The Injustice System in America
Language:
English
Country of Origin: USA
Year : 2005
Duration: 82 Min.
Color
Director: Cary Silberman
Script: Cary Silberman
Camera: Cathy Kelly
Editing: Andrew Mullen
Music: Brian Tuley
Starring/Featuring: Jeff Adachi, Van Jones, Michelle Alexander, Vernell Crittendon, Lenore Anderson, Donald Black, Quetza, Martin Rodriguez, Ken Stewart
Production: Cinedor Pictures, MVP, Cary Silberman, Rik Walters, Maritza Mullen, Joe Adams, Angela Chumak
Please register or log in at the upper right hand corner to purchase and view film.
About the Film
Institutionalized Racism
Film director Cary Silberman, is an adjunct professor of law and the executive producer of the award winning documentary, La Senora Eva Peron. She speaks with San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi, Van Jones, Esq. (from the Ella Baker Center) and Information Officer Vernell Critendon from the San Quentin Prison. The varying points of view all lead to the same conclusion:
The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 made slavery unlawful in the US. Nonetheless, the prison system sometimes acted - especially for African Americans - less as a correctional and rehabilitating facility and more as a new impediment of civil rights.
institutionalized racism, the privatization of the prison system, and the concurrent 'War on Drugs' has had disastrous consequences on communities across the nation and has eroded basic civil rights. Monies earmarked for schools, playgrounds, and community sport clubs have been diverted to fund the ever-growing prison system. The result is a vicious cycle of revolving cell doors that leaves inmates without hope of returning to intact communities or a chance at rehabilitation.
Stanford Professor Michelle Alexander, Esq.. posits the very convincing notion that legally tolerated racial profiling and the War on Crime, which actually has coincided with increases in prison sentences, are a modern, disguised form of the notorious Jim Crow laws. Considering that ex-inmates lose the right to vote in some states, and are subject to many forms of legal discrimination, the civil rights implications are intolerable and demand reform.
More film-related info!
Blog
You can watch this film for free on the virtual couch!
