Samuel L. Jackson connects 12 Years A Slave to racism in Hollywood
In a recent interview with the International Business Times, actor Samuel L. Jackson states that the only reason 12 Years A Slave was funded was that Steve McQueen is British and not an African-American.
“I would think that if an African-American director went into a studio and pitched that particular film, they would be like: ‘No, no, no” Jackson said.
He did say he is glad the film was made although he isn’t sure why a black British director wanted to make a film about slavery in America.
“Look, I’m glad 12 Years got made and it’s wonderful that people are seeing it and there is another view of what happened in America. But I’m not real sure why Steve McQueen wanted to tackle that particular sort of thing.”
Jackson also noted that “America is much more willing to acknowledge what happened in the past: ‘We freed the slaves! It’s all good!’ But to say: ‘We are still unnecessarily killing black men’ – let’s have a conversation about that.”
This is where Jackson, while well meaning shows that he is not so educated about the issue of slavery in America and how Hollywood has helped to hide the fact that the institution of slavery was never abolished but merely transformed. The 13th Amendment of the United States constitution specially states that slavery is still legal as long as the person has been convicted of a crime.
However, there are no films that portray the backroom deal the Lincoln administration and Republicans made with former confederate states in allowing prison slavery to replace plantation slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment. Lets see a film get made about that issue.
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The 14th Amendment is not much better than the 13th.
Kidnapped Africans and Kidnapped Black Native Americans(yes, e were already here when the Europeans arrived to these shores) went from being forced labor to SUBJECTS of the Corporation known as the UNITED STATES as outlined in the 14th.. They made us SUBJECTS without our permission and not even so much as a plebecite of our people asking us in what way and under what circumstances we prefer to live our lives or even if we sought to live it out of the illegal jurisdiction of our former captors and tormentors..
I originally felt the same way as Mr. Jackson. While we’re at a place where we are ready to see good real Black movies by Black African-American Directors married to Black women who reject the MYTH of White Supremacy the White power structure isn’t quite there yet. This was but one step on the ladder and its a very long ladder. As for the disrespectful claim that the criminal justice system that sprang out of Slavery is the “same” as Slavery or a continuation of White Colonial Slavery that’s silly. Yes the racism that justified Slavery has been used every day since the 13th Amendment but no we don’t solve the problem by suggesting nothings changed. This lie is defeatist and enables the dumb White Racists to get away with it. It also gives them an excuse to never change the system. TKCAL
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I can point to evidence that suggests that in terms of the enslavement of Black people, the only thing that has changed is the form of enslavement, meaning whereas before it was not sanctioned by the Constitution specifically, the 13th Amendment specifically made it legal as punishment for crime. When you have more Black people on prison plantations than you had at any one time in America’s long history of enslaving Black people, there is a problem that has gotten worse and not better. Are people being raped, beaten and murdered on the prison plantation by guards and other staff? Yes. Are inmates being treated as a human commodity and being traded on Wall Street? Yes. Are the slave patrols (cop) still terrorizing and killing Black people? Yes. Sounds like the same ole same ole to me. Just a matter of perspective I guess. If we say that look we got black millionaires and a Black president with a Black First Lady to gage whether or not Black people are still being enslaved is silly to me. I have years of study on the issue, talked to many people who worked for and against the criminal justice system, read books and articles, watched documentaries, all of which has shaped my opinion, so again, the evidence says not much has changed in terms of the enslavement of Black people in this country.
We don’t need your approval or your agreement to do what we do. There were Black people who were just fine with Jim Crow back in the day.
Move To Abolish 21st Century Slavery & Human Trafficking https://www.facebook.com/groups/252019828274423/