Will Smith presents trailer for Netflix series Amend: The Fight For America about the 14th Amendment

Will Smith presents trailer for Netflix series Amend: The Fight For America about the 14th Amendment

Will Smith took to Instagram on Tuesday to present a trailer for his new upcoming Netflix series Amend: The Fight For America.

The 52-year-old actor executive-produced and hosted the six-part docuseries that examines the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution that was ratified in 1868.

‘What does it mean to be an American?,’ Smith said to open the nearly three-minute trailer.

Netflix series: Will Smith took to Instagram on Tuesday to present a trailer for his new upcoming Netflix series Amend: The Fight For America

The video then showed all-American images including an apple pie and a baseball stadium filled with fans for Opening Day in 2010.

‘What about a citizen?,’ Smith pondered.

Academics discussed how the original US Constitution did not have a statement of who is and who isn’t a citizen, which allowed racism to flourish.

‘The heart of the Fourteenth Amendment is the definition of citizens in America. It is through this definition that all the rights we cherish are granted and defended,’ Smith said.

Double duty: The 52-year-old actor executive-produced and hosted the six-part docuseries that examines the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution that was ratified in 1868

Double duty: The 52-year-old actor executive-produced and hosted the six-part docuseries that examines the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution that was ratified in 1868

American imagery: The video then showed all-American images including a baseball stadium filled with fans for Opening Day in 2010

American imagery: The video then showed all-American images including a baseball stadium filled with fans for Opening Day in 2010

Apple pie: The Americana scenery included a hot apple pie

Apple pie: The Americana scenery included a hot apple pie

He later added: ‘The Fourteenth Amendment is a promise of equality for all. It says we are all deserving of empathy and dignity.’

The documentary features stars such as Mahershala Ali, Diane Lane, Samuel L. Jackson, Pedro Pascal, Yara Shahidi, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Laverne Cox reciting speeches and writings related to the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Larry Wilmore, 59, also was an executive producer and appears in front of the camera, too.

Top comedian: Larry Wilmore, 59, also was an executive producer of Amend and appears in front of the camera, too

Top comedian: Larry Wilmore, 59, also was an executive producer of Amend and appears in front of the camera, too

Citizens defined: Amend examines the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution

Citizens defined: Amend examines the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution

Star-studded documentary: The star-studded documentary includes Samuel L. Jackson

Star-studded documentary: The star-studded documentary includes Samuel L. Jackson

Oscar winner: Mahershala Ali also participated in the documentary

Oscar winner: Mahershala Ali also participated in the documentary

Smith on his Instagram page told his roughly 51.3 million followers that he was honored to present the trailer.

‘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,’ the Oscar-nominee wrote in the caption of the trainer.

‘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 14th Amendment is a critical jumping off point,’ Smith added.

Fan favorite: Pedro Pascal of The Mandalorian fame also joined the narrative

Fan favorite: Pedro Pascal of The Mandalorian fame also joined the narrative

Anti-slavery newspaper: The trailer showed the front page of North Star, a nineteenth-century anti-slavery newspaper published by abolitionist Frederick Douglass

Anti-slavery newspaper: The trailer showed the front page of North Star, a nineteenth-century anti-slavery newspaper published by abolitionist Frederick Douglass

‘Our hope with this series is to illuminate the beauty that is the promise of America and to share a message of connection and shared humanity so that we will be able to better understand and celebrate our different experiences as Americans and promote progress toward the true equality promised to all persons under the 14th Amendment.

‘I’m grateful to @netflix and the phenomenal group of people who came together both in front of and behind the camera to help us tell this story. We thank you for watching,’ he concluded.

Amend: The Fight For America will premiere February 17 on Netflix.

Instagram post: Smith on his Instagram page told his roughly 51.3 million followers that he was honored to present the trailer

Instagram post: Smith on his Instagram page told his roughly 51.3 million followers that he was honored to present the trailer

Words matter: The documentary emphasized that words matter as a Black Lives Matter street mural was shown

Words matter: The documentary emphasized that words matter as a Black Lives Matter street mural was shown

Former officer: Former police officer Derek Chauvin was shown kneeling on the neck of George Floyd before the death of the unarmed Black man in the documentary

Former officer: Former police officer Derek Chauvin was shown kneeling on the neck of George Floyd before the death of the unarmed Black man in the documentary

Coming soon: Amend: The Fight For America will premiere February 17 on Netflix

Coming soon: Amend: The Fight For America will premiere February 17 on Netflix