Ava DuVernay says Trump’s America inspired her new documentary about the 14th Amendment

In a new interview, DuVernay discusses the fear and anger behind her Netflix documentary examining the 14th Amendment and the country’s ongoing struggle over civil rights.

Ava DuVernay is once again using film to examine America’s complicated relationship with race, civil rights and democracy. This time, the acclaimed filmmaker is turning her attention to the 14th Amendment and what she sees as growing threats to its constitutional protections under President Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Guardian, DuVernay discussed her upcoming Netflix documentary, “14th,” explaining how the current political climate and experiences in her own Los Angeles neighborhood helped shape the project.

“It’s been a very tough two years,” DuVernay told the publication, describing witnessing immigration enforcement agents pull people from cars and neighbors disappearing from their communities. She also revealed that people she personally knows have been hiding in their homes amid the climate of fear.

“When I would feel the rage and the fear, I put it into the film,” she said.

The documentary initially grew out of Trump’s January 2025 executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, a protection established under the 14th Amendment. However, as DuVernay researched the amendment and traveled around the country, she realized the story extended beyond citizenship.

The film examines all five sections of the amendment, including citizenship, equal protection under the law and due process. It also explores the historical backlash against Reconstruction and the continued struggle over Black Americans’ constitutional rights.

A follow-up of sorts to her Oscar-nominated 2016 documentary “13th,” which examined the relationship between slavery and mass incarceration, “14th” features 50 interviews with historians, legal experts, politicians and cultural commentators.

Among those featured are Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, conservative Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, former Sen. Jeff Flake and legal scholar Sherrilyn Ifill, founder of Howard University’s 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy.

DuVernay said she sought a broad ideological range of perspectives, sending more than 300 interview requests to Republican elected officials. However, only a handful agreed to participate.

Ultimately, the filmmaker hopes audiences recognize that America’s history is not disconnected from its present circumstances.

“14th” arrives in select theaters Nov. 27 and premieres on Netflix Dec. 4.