From IndieWire · Beandrea July · · 1m
14th Review: Ava DuVernay's Overstuffed Documentary
Ava DuVernay's Netflix documentary '14th' traces constitutional law's unfinished promise but risks overwhelming its argument with urgency.
In brief
Ava DuVernay's Netflix documentary '14th' traces constitutional law's unfinished promise but risks overwhelming its argument with urgency. Ava DuVernay's documentary '14th' connects Frederick Douglass' warnings to current racial justice struggles through the Fourteenth Amendment. Originally reported by IndieWire.
Frederick Douglass' Warning
In the months leading up to the end of the American Civil War, Frederick Douglass spoke at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual meeting in Boston about what would remain after the rebellion was defeated.
“That enmity will not die out in a year. It will not die out in an age.”
Documentary Focus
Ava DuVernay's new documentary '14th' traces the Fourteenth Amendment's unfinished promise but its urgency sometimes overwhelms its argument.
Sherrilyn Ifill's Role
Constitutional law expert Sherrilyn Ifill, a Howard University law professor and former NAACP Legal Defense Fund head, serves as the film's closest narrator.
Douglass' Refrain
Ifill recalls Douglass' words from his speech 'What the Black Man Wants' as a refrain to show we are living in one of the ages he predicted.
The short version
Ava DuVernay's documentary '14th' connects Frederick Douglass' warnings to current racial justice struggles through the Fourteenth Amendment.
