Films on Purpose presented the documentary “13th” to a crowd of 75 people at Holy Innocents Church November 8.

Films on Purpose, which was founded in 2016, is a group based in Pleasantville that screens films focused on social issues such as race relations, environmental issues, and immigration. Each screening is followed by a post-film panel in which local experts and activists discuss a certain issue.

“13th” focuses on the correlation between the end of American slavery with the 13th Amendment and mass incarceration of black Americans up to present day. Among those on the panel included former Pleasantville Mayor and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law member John Nonna.

Nonna said despite Pleasantville’s 81 percent white population, the film is still relevant for those living in the village.

“We need to know the problems our society has,” Nonna said. “Our society does have a problem with racism and it’s in the criminal justice system, it’s in the history of mass incarceration of African Americans for crimes that are minor, and people are put in jail, they can’t get a job or housing and they can’t get an education. So, I think white people have to understand these issues, because it’s holding our society back.”

Cory Greene (who was interviewed in “13th”), Victor Alvarez and Keron Bennett were also featured on the panel. The three are members of How Our Lives Link Altogether (H.O.L.L.A.), an organization founded by Greene while he was incarcerated.

Greene, Alvarez and Bennett touched on different issues the film brought up, including the American Criminal Justice System.

“The system is not broken, it’s acting the way it was meant to,” Alvarez said. “The system is built off of a racist document and racism is embedded in our system. The Constitution was made by white men who owned slaves, by slave owners, and it talks about equality, but never delivers it.”

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, black Americans are five times more likely to be incarcerated relative to their white counterparts. 

Alvarez, who was released from prison last year, discussed the impact his incarceration had on his life.

“I couldn’t even go back to housing because I have a felony, and Bill Clinton signed a law that said if you have a conviction, you cannot go back to public housing,” he said. “In public housing, a lot of poor people live there and they get assistance from the government to pay the rent. So, they’re restricting me to come back to a home and it handicaps people from getting somewhere in life.”

Bennett addressed the idea that the decisions made by members of the black community is the reason behind the mass incarceration among black Americans.

“They always tell us to ‘grab yourselves by the bootstrap,'” he said. “But you can’t grab the bootstraps if you do not have any boots to begin with. White people ask why is there crime or violence, but they should just look at the environments we’re put in.”

One issue brought up in the film was the amount of money private prisons generate and those prisons’ relationships with businesses.

“Mass incarceration and the way the police shoot young black men didn’t surprise me, I knew a lot of those issues,” Nonna said. “The one area I did not know is the amount of money that prison systems generate for companies. I didn’t realize to what extent” businesses profited off of prisons, he said.

Films on Purpose member Claire Schiffman, who was the interviewer during the panel, said she hopes the Pleasantville audience appreciated the film and discussion as much as she did.

“The people who spoke were so great,” she said. “Everybody has to see this film. Pleasantville is just one small village where we showed this because that’s where we happen to live, but everybody needs to see it and everybody needs to understand the issues of racism and mass incarceration.”

While there was no “approve or disapprove” poll given out to those in attendance after the film and discussion, Erica Bucki believed her fellow attendees enjoyed the event.

“The panel afterward was really amazing,” said Bucki, who was viewing the film for the second time. “Everyone who spoke had so much passion, and it was really easy to see that people were taking the film to heart, and really considering and thinking about the issues that were brought up.”

Bucki, a Valhalla resident, said she came to the event to see the reaction of those living in Pleasantville, “partly because it’s such an affluent community,” she said. “I was very intrigued on how their reaction was going to be, and I’m happy they appreciated the film.”

Nonna was satisfied with the event and the large crowd it generated. He said he believes the seeds of change begin at events in small towns like Pleasantville.

“Events like this where we have people come in to explain what they’ve been going through is what helps change,” Nonna said. “Bringing people together as much as possible so you can understand where other people are coming from comes a long way to eliminating racism.”

Bucki concurred, and believes the screening was a move in the right direction.

“I think race and incarceration are issues that isn’t necessarily obvious to people who haven’t lived it because it’s so shoved under the rug, and that doesn’t mean that doesn’t affect those people, it just means they don’t know it affects them,” Bucki said.

“There’s no zero sum game,” she continued. “When we can bring our whole population up and nobody’s being harmed in the system, then everybody benefits. I think it’s important to start that conversation, and the conversation starts here in a little church.”