On December 1, Connecting the Dots, in partnership with several local organizations, sponsored a screening and panel discussion of the documentary13th to a packed house at Maryland Hall. Directed by Ava DuVernay, 13th explores the intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in the United States. It is titled after the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution which freed the slaves and prohibited slavery. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2016 Academy Awards and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary.
Director DuVernay contends that, with five percent of the world’s population and twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners, the U.S. continues to perpetuate slavery. She examines the prison-industrial complex and demonstrates how much money is generated by corporations from incarcerations.
The post-screening panel discussion included Hans Charles, the film’s Director of Photography; Suzanne Kay, an award-winning filmmaker who was previously with CNN and the McNeil Lehrer Report; and Adrian Muldrow, a community activist, who has worked with thousands of individuals returning home from prison. The panel was moderated by Janice Hayes-Williams, Historian, Annapolis native, and writer.
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