The New Jim Crow: Dice Raw’s Documentary “Jimmie’s Back” Shares Impact Of Mass Incarceration On Black Men

Via Rap Genius:

The 18-minute “Jimmy’s Back” documentary (directed by Cosmik Vertigo Films) spotlights the issue of mass incarceration in America and includes commentary from a few of the featured artists on the album, many of whom are ex-felons. As Dice Raw puts it, they represent the “truth” behind the album’s message. In the documentary, rappers such as Philadelphia’s rising star and ex-offender K-Dot talk about living in “cells the size of bathrooms” where they were left to their own insanity, only to be returned to another sort of insanity once released back into the streets.

“I grew up in Philadelphia — Philadelphia is not a soft city, you know what I mean? It has a criminal element to it, and poor sections. That’s basically what it comes down to is low economic background, low education… the War on Drugs is a War on Thugs,” says Dice Raw on the tragic state of affairs for Black men in his home city of Philadelphia alone.

“Black people have been fighting for the freedoms and privileges enjoyed by people of ALL colors since Crispus Attucks, without fair or equal representation. Law and order are now code words for ‘get them ni**as.’ Churches, temples, synagogues, the media, police, gun shops, law firms and more will win off of recent things like the Trayvon Martin decision. Don’t believe me — just watch! We released ‘Jimmy’s Back’ as an informative call-to-action to our brothers, sisters and allies in the struggle.”

The footage in the documentary was shot in Philadelphia, and some scenes were excerpted from the “Pull of Gravity” documentary by filmmaker Jon Kaufman.