New London — A group of more than 20 community members and officials gathered Saturday to watch Ava DuVernay's documentary "13th" and discuss topics of racial discrimination and mass incarceration.

The viewing, hosted by the New London branch of the NAACP at the Opportunities Industrialization Center, was followed by a discussion moderated by Daryl McGraw, the founder of criminal justice consulting organization Formerly Inc., and Aram deKoven, chief diversity officer at the Coast Guard Academy.

The film's title refers to the 13th Amendment, which made slavery unconstitutional except as a punishment for a crime. The documentary covers the evolution of slavery to the mass incarceration of people of color.

Tamara Lanier, vice president of the NAACP New London Branch, said after the event that “silence is complicity” and it’s important to call out discrimination. “We have to speak about it and what we are going to do,” she said.

The documentary, released on Netflix, highlights that the United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's prison population. The prison population in the U.S. rose from 300,000 people in 1972 to 2.3 million in 2016, according to the film.

During the discussion after the documentary, people spoke about police cameras, discrimination, disparities in access to the court system, reparations, policies regarding marijuana, the effects of the war on drugs, the school-to-prison pipeline and the need for support of education, among other topics.

McGraw, a criminal justice advocate, spoke about racial disparities that continue to exist today and said the crack epidemic was criminalized, leading to the incarceration of many black and brown people, while opioid addiction is considered a health crisis.

McGraw, who teaches about trauma and facilitates trauma programs in prisons, also spoke about trauma's role in substance abuse and incarceration. He said it's important to identify people who are vulnerable at a young age and work with them.

"No one's talking to them about not having a dad," he said. "No one's asking them if they ate last night. No one's asking what happened in your neighborhood. It's always what's wrong with you, instead of what happened to you."

Jean Jordan, president of the NAACP New London Branch, said the organization held the viewing because not many people have seen the documentary. She said it's especially important in light of today's political climate, with the things that are being said and the things people are seeing, such as the white supremacist march and protests in Charlottesville, where one person was killed and more were injured.

She said some of the same images people are seeing today mirror the historical ones shown in the documentary.

"They’re the same images," Jordan said. "It has to stop at some point so I feel the more we show this, the more we educate people and maybe one day life will be better for all of us."

Zakia Wright encouraged people to call their local NAACP chapters and see how they can get involved and also call their mayor and legislators to ask how they're helping to resolve issues for black people — not only during Black History Month but throughout the year. 

k.drelich@theday.com