Ava DuVernay has announced a new documentary for Netflix about the 14th Amendment, which granted freedom and rights to formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. DuVernay, known for films like ‘Selma’ and ‘Origin’, returns to non-fiction with ’14th’. The film follows her 2016 documentary ’13th’, which examined the impact of the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery.
The 14th Amendment has recently faced legal challenges from Donald Trump. On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order drastically restricting birthright citizenship, protected by the amendment. The Supreme Court overturned this order in June with a 6-3 vote.
Ratified in 1868 during Reconstruction, the 14th Amendment states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the country and the state where they reside. This constitutional amendment overturned the Supreme Court’s 1857 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which declared that descendants of enslaved people couldn’t be citizens.
If ’13th’ asked who ends up caged, then ’14th’ asks who counts.
DuVernay’s film will examine how the 14th Amendment became an ongoing subject of debate. It will feature politicians, historians, and cultural voices. DuVernay remarked in a statement that the documentary is not about past freedom, but about the state of the nation today. She questions what kind of country is being shaped beneath us while we believe longstanding narratives.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, reaffirmed the amendment’s protections. He stated that citizenship is the right to have rights, enabling free participation in the political community. The amendment extended this promise to all individuals born on this land. Roberts emphasized, ‘Today we uphold that promise.’
Trump has expressed his intention to continue challenging the Supreme Court’s decision. He wrote on Truth Social that the ruling would destroy America if not reversed.
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