Will Smith hosts Netflix docu-series AMEND on the 14th Amendment

Will Smith is both Executive Producer and Host of a brand new Netflix documentary series, Amend: The Fight for America It will explore explores the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as the nation’s most enduring hallmark of democracy.

This is the Amendment ratified in 1868, promised equal protection of the laws to all citizens, which it defined as those born or naturalized in the U.S. Its most important purpose at the time was to assure the rights of Black Americans, most of whom had been enslaved until a few years earlier.

It has done much more than that and has been the foundation for court rulings in favor of marriage rights for interracial couples and same-sex couples. There is one episode in particular that Queerguru is especially looking forward as it centers on marriage equality, framed by the love story of Supreme Court plaintiff Jim Obergefell and his husband, John Arthur.

In press notes for the series Smith says “I am honored to present Amend: The Fight for America. We are living in unprecedented days as a society, as a country, and as a human family. I believe that the cultivation of personal and historical understanding is the imperative spark igniting the flames of desperately needed compassion and healing. As Americans, we endeavor to form a more perfect union that truly establishes justice and equality for all. I believe a deeper understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment is a critical jumping-off point both in front of and behind the camera to help us tell this story.”

Actors, including Laverne Cox, Samira Wiley, Mahershala Ali, Diane Lane, Randall Park, will read the words of a variety of historical figures who were involved in activism relating to the Fourteenth Amendment, some of whom sought to limit its application and some who fought to expand it. Also featured will be numerous experts in law, policy, and culture, and a variety of others.

The first episode of the series deals with the origins of the amendment; the second with how the cause of racial equality was undermined in from the late 19th century through the middle of the 20th century; the third with Black Americans’ fight for civil rights in the 1950s and ’60s; the fourth with women’s struggle for equal rights; the fifth with LGBTQ+ rights, including marriage equality; and the sixth with the treatment of immigrants.

Amend will be available on Netflix beginning February 17. Watch the trailer below.