Ava DuVernay’s New Netflix Documentary Explores the 14th Amendment

Ava DuVernay announced a new documentary for Netflix that examines the 14th Amendment. This amendment granted freedom and rights to previously enslaved people after the Civil War, and has faced legal challenges from President Donald Trump.

Netflix will release 14th later this year. The film marks DuVernay’s return to nonfiction, continuing her exploration of American constitutional amendments. It follows her 2016 film 13th, which delved into the legacy of the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery.

The 14th Amendment has been a target for Trump. On the first day of his second term, he signed an executive order to significantly limit birthright citizenship, protected by the amendment. However, the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s order in a 6-3 vote in June.

Ratified in 1868 during Reconstruction, the 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” This constitutional change overturned the 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which declared that descendants of slaves could not be citizens.

DuVernay’s documentary will explore how the 14th Amendment has become an ongoing legal issue. It will feature politicians, historians, and cultural voices. DuVernay said, “If 13th asked who ends up behind bars, then 14th asks who counts.”

She emphasized that the film is not solely about past freedoms but questions the current evolution of the country.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, affirmed the protections of the amendment, which confers citizenship rights to anyone born in the U.S. with few exceptions. “Citizenship was, and is, the right to have rights,” he stated. “The framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended this promise to ‘every freeborn person in this country.’ Today, we uphold that promise.”

Despite the ruling, Trump has expressed his intent to challenge the Supreme Court decision further, stating, “This judicial error will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision,” following the decision on Truth Social.