Reflections on Netflix Documentary "Amend: The Fight for America"

I got a chance to watch the Netflix limited series, Amend: The Fight for America. The series covered the history of the 14th Amendment and its impact on America. The series educates the audience on an amendment that's not as well known as some of the others but is what gives our country the identity that we like to project on the world, from its inception before the Civil War by people like Fredrick Douglass to its passage in 1868 during Reconstruction to its use throughout the years to its present use on issues like gay marriage and immigration.

To say that I enjoyed the series would be an understatement. It allowed me to get my fix of law, history, politics, and race in a pretty documentary package, served up with a slew of talented actors, as well as some of my favorite lawyers and academics, to help bring it all to life. I particularly appreciated that the film was willing to take a critical look at some of our beloved historical figures, like Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and showed how their eventual positions on the issue of race took a bit of wrangling from the activists of their day, namely Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. respectively.

The series also introduced me to a number of laws and cases that I'm somewhat ashamed that I didn't know anything about before watching the series. Particularly, I was completely unaware of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was a proposed Constitutional Amendment to address sex discrimination that Congress passed in 1972 but was not ratified by the required three-quarter of the states in the set time to become the 26th Amendment.

Regardless, as with many of the television series on my social media pages, I'd like to give a few takeaways from this series. As such, here are my top 3.

1) The 14th Amendment Does Not Get the Recognition It Deserves

The series discusses this point and how many people are quick to cite their 1st Amendment or 2nd Amendment rights, but rarely that of the 14th Amendment. It also discusses how since the passage of this Amendment, many of those who were opposed to the amendment, won the battle over the narrative of it . As a result, it is not widely thought of, in relation to some of the other more popular amendments. However, its impact on our country has helped us move forward with regards to how we deal with one another, more than most other aspects of our constitution.

The 14th Amendment, among other things, establishes that we grant the right of citizenship to those born in the country and due process to everyone present in the country. Compare that to the 1st Amendment, which many cling tightly to, mainly to let them expel a bunch of hot air, or that of the 2nd Amendment, which helps some feel safe in the thought that they can possibly shoot someone else. While I don't have an issue with free speech or the right to bear arms, I think the 14th Amendment is far more impressive, in that it expanded the right to justice to everyone in this nation, as opposed to the original constitution which was primarily written for the benefit of white male property owners.

Also, the 14th Amendment helps us live closer to the idea of taking care of the least among us by ensuring the right of due process for all, which is of particular importance for the most marginalized in this nation. This is a principle noted by people of many religious backgrounds, including Mahatma Ghandi, Pope John Paul II, and is also proscribed by the Bible. While our nation has no official religion, the thought of securing the rights for the most venerable among us is still a worthy one, regardless of your religious background. It should also be noted that while we as a nation have continually fallen short of this benchmark, establishing it has shown a promise of where we should strive to be.

2) Black People Have Continued To Push This Nation Forward, Despite It Not Doing the Same in Return

Dave Chappelle said in a recent show of his said, "If you could solve a black American's problems, this country would have no problems." Sounds like a big claim, but I agree with him in a number of ways. The idea is that if you can fix the issues of one of the most oppressed groups in our nation (if not the most oppressed), then it will ultimately help many of, if not all of our nations problems, similar to how fixing the weakest link in a chain makes the chain stronger. The 14th Amendment has shown how there is at least some truth to this claim.

Although the purpose of the 14th Amendment was intended to benefit former slaves every marginalized group has benefited from its passage. The series showed how the 14th Amendment helped former slaves establish themselves during reconstruction, as well as help their descendants later overcome Jim Crow. It showed how the women suffrage movement used the 14th Amendment from as early as the Reconstruction period and throughout the decades that followed as the basis for legal battles like Roe v. Wade. It showed how the LGBT community has used the 14th Amendment to secure many of their rights, including the right to privacy and the right to marry. It showed how the immigrant community has and continues to use it to establish their rights from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the present issues on the southern border. In other words, addressing the issues of bigotry and oppression, helped address the practice used against the most marginalized groups in some fashion.

Unfortunately, the nation has not returned the favor to the black community, in helping it to better live up to its claim of being a nation of justice and fairness for all. The series shows how within a decade or two after the Civil War, our nation began backsliding on its promise to black people. One practice of particular note to me, which isn't well known was the wide adoption of apprenticeships after the Civil War, where children were used in a manner that was much like slave labor. This was of particular note to me, because when I visited the Southampton Virginia County Courthouse in December 2016 I found my 3rd great-grandfather's apprenticeship documents. It can be seen below, where my great-great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Crocker, who was born free in 1835 to Judy Crocker (also listed as born free), was put in an apprenticeship at the annual rate of $20.00, which would be around $641 today. Although this document predates the Civil War, its use before and after the war disenfranchised people from the black community, including members of my family, and it was just one tactic. Tactics like these, in addition to the terrorism on the black community (many times by local government officials as noted in the series) are probably some of the reasons my great grandparents decided to leave the South when they became adults.

A copy of the record below from somewhere between 1847-48 showing the apprenticeship of 12-year-old Nicholas Crocker for $20.

3) Resistance to Racial Progress Has Been Consistent in This Country....And So Should Our Willingness to Push Forward

One of the most consistent points of the series was that as soon as progress was made, a swift backlash immediately followed. As soon as the 14th Amendment was passed, the resistance to it was swift and at many times deadly. Although, during Reconstruction, there were many things that benefited both white and black people, like public education, the presence of black people in positions of power and public office didn't sit well with many white southerners. As a result, disenfranchising laws from southern states, lack of continued support from the federal government, and continual terrorism by white citizens caused Reconstruction to fail and began the long period in American History we now refer to as Jim Crow.

Many parallels can be seen in the series to the present day. In particular, after noting how consistent backlash has been to black progress in this country, there shouldn't be much surprise that our nation's first black president, Barack Obama, was followed up by Donald Trump, who consistently catered to white supremacist organizations. As such, if people and organizations like Black Lives Matter are wanting to push this country forward on the matter of race relations, they should all be prepared to deal with a continual backlash when progress is made.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I highly recommend watching this series. It is informative, thought-provoking, and well-executed. I hope that it is encouraged to be viewed in people's homes, as well as in schools around the country.