The Ordinary People Society (TOPS) in partnership with Alabama Values, Transform Alabama, Black Voters Matter, HICA, Lift our Vote, and others, hosted an early screening of “The Alabama Solution”, a documentary about the Alabama prison system, in Selma, AL, October 12.
Selma is not just a five letter word. It is history. It represents blood sweat and tears poured out in the name of civil rights.
“Selma was the site of one of the most significant events in the civil rights movement — Bloody Sunday. To protest the obstacles faced by Black voters and the murder of activist Jimmie Lee Jackson, peaceful demonstrators attempted to march across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge and were met with violence at the hands of state troopers. Footage of the brutal attacks shocked the nation and eventually spurred the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” said the US Civil Rights Trail.
“The film offers an unfiltered view inside a system where overcrowding, untreated addiction and violence are routine, and where official oversight is almost nonexistent,” said The Marshall Project, in a recent article.
Scenes from the documentary show blood-streaked walls and trash-strewn corridors where men wander as if they’re in trances — a haunting reality of the neglect present inside Alabama’s prisons.
Co-director Andrew Jarecki, in a recent article by AL News stated, “We want to show viewers the truth about a system that has been cloaked in secrecy. We hope the film sparks an effort to allow access for journalists and others so the public can have transparency into how incarcerated citizens are treated and how our tax dollars are being spent. We hope to inspire Alabama’s leadership to acknowledge the crisis and to overhaul its prison system and its use of forced labor.”
“The Alabama Solution” should spark conversation within your community and those around you — there has to be a change.
According to the Alabama Reflector, “The Montgomery premiere is among about 60 community screenings that are scheduled nationwide. Half are set for Alabama.”
No one should go through the treatment depicted in this documentary. It is the harsh reality for many incarcerated citizens within the Alabama prison system—but it is not their story. This is about God-given rights every individual is entitled to.
This is not about politics— it is about the simple truth that people do not deserve to get treated like animals.
Get in touch with local lawmakers, Advocate for change, Don’t sit silently when our voice is needed more than ever.
Don’t miss future screenings:
October 26- Dothan Civic Center (Learn more here)
November 5- Alabama A&M University (Learn more here)
November 22- Huntsville Progressive Union Missionary Baptist (Learn more here)
Watch “The Alabama Solution” streaming on HBO now.