African American Drug War Essay
It is a colossal failure. It nearly destroyed a generation of people. As the War on Drugs near 50 years, we know it was a massive failure. I am talking about the failed American Drug War and its negative effects on African-Americans.
Let us never forget the moment when President Nixon’s former domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman revealed in an interview with Harper’s Magazine in 1994 that was published last year that, “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people”.
Moreover, he said, “We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
…show more content…
From the infamous Rockefeller Drug laws that sentenced people to the mandatory 15 year sentence for possession or selling of drugs to the militarization of your local police station, the War on Drugs effect has been felt nearly everywhere in the country. Negatively affected with the drawn out War on Drugs, African-Americans still suffer from its effects
Social Problems In The African-American Community
1082 Words | 5 PagesNevertheless, millions of African Americans still live mired in poverty, susceptible to poor living conditions in underserved inner cities. The War on Drugs, which began in the 1980s, is a leading cause of the high rate of incarceration among African Americans, especially males. Today, criminal gangs have spread throughout the country and into the prisons. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with over 1.6 million dwelling in prisons. Of this number, a fairly large amount are African Americans.
Analysis Of The Movie 13th
970 Words | 4 PagesThough the creation of certain policies criminalized drug use and began to target minority communities predominantly African American and Latino. It used a campaign with the message of violence and danger that needed to be controlled within the African American and minority
Black Crack Cocaine Research Paper
108 Words | 1 PagesLet’s look at the punishment related to crack cocaine use offenses and how they are that much more severe than the punishment for illicit use of prescription opioids. Through this research we will come to realize that the only real difference between the two is the skin color of the people using them. With a rapid increase of deaths related to the misuse of pain relief prescription medications there is a frenzy in the “white community”. However, this same type of sympathy was unheard of during the black crack cocaine epidemic of the 1990s. Where the most aggressive drug sentencing laws to date were instituted, impacting minorities
New Jim Crow Introduction
239 Words | 1 PagesAlexander’s book introduction addresses some of the injustices that minorities especially African Americans have to endure under the war on drugs. However, Alexander also points out that drug crimes are relatively low compared to other countries meaning that there is no correlation at all between rising efforts on law enforcement funding and declining crime rates. Alexander comes to the conclusion that the current criminal justice system is set up to keep social control over minorities. The New Jim Crow assignment has a total of twenty six questions.
Matthew Cooke's How To End The War On Drugs
1254 Words | 6 PagesLos Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, who believed that “casual drug users should be taken out and shot,” founded the DARE drug education program, which was quickly adopted nationwide despite the lack of evidence of its effectiveness. As shown, all of the attempts did little to hinder the drug war’s effects, All of this leads to groups and individuals alike to search for solutions to end this ongoing crisis. In Matthew Cooke’s, “How to End the War on Drugs” he brings about possible solutions to end the war. Cooke (2013) suggests making all drug sales, possession, and use non crime nor jail able offenses, allow pharmacies to sell recreational drugs to adults only, with plenty of warning information, and outlaw advertising for recreational drugs (Cooke, 2013).While this all may seem reasonable at first glance, the author’s use of over emotion does not play to his advantage.
Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander
1006 Words | 5 PagesFor this semester, we read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. The book talks about how minorities face, especially black men, being treated like second-class citizens by the criminal justice system and this leading to our modern mass incarceration problem. Alexander goes as far as to say “We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it” (2). This is shown by the War on Drugs.
Essay On Ronald Reagan's War On Drugs
1865 Words | 8 PagesDuring the Conservative era of the 1980’s President Ronald Reagan had multiple issues to deal with during his two terms, both foreign and domestic. The obvious cloud hanging over every president at that time was the threat of The Soviet Union and communism. Reagan’s presidency saw him take numerous measures to solidify America as the stronger of the two and democracy as the best form of government. On the home front, there were numerous issues to deal with as well. The main concerns he had to deal with were public health and safety issues such as the HIV and AIDS, the protests of the homosexual community, and the cocaine epidemic.
African American Incarceration Research Paper
250 Words | 1 PagesSince the Reagan administration, all proceeding presidents have continued to win votes by using this dog-whistle strategy. It sends abstract messages through coded language that sounds neutral on the surface, but plays on white resentment to minorities without appearing racially motivated (SG 16). The effectiveness of this strategy becomes obvious when reflecting on some statistics about drug usage and incarceration rates. Since 1983 when mass incarceration truly began escalating, African American incarceration has increased by 26 percent. This increase has caused approximately 80 to 90 percent of drug offenders currently in prison to be African American while no evidence exists that Blacks use or sell drugs any more than Whites (NJC).
New World Slavery In America
1000 Words | 4 PagesLike it is mentioned in the movie 13th “The so called war on drugs was a war on communities of color”. So, now black people are being arrested much more than White people even though the drug use is close to the same as Angela F. Chan points out in her article for the Huffington Post. “Even though Black people use drugs at the same rate as White people, they are incarcerated for drug crimes at 20 to 50 times the rate of White people in some states”. A law that was passed during the war on drugs was mandatory sentencing.
Essay On The Movie 13th
1859 Words | 8 PagesFrom the year 1970 to 1980, there was almost a 200,000 increase in people who were incarcerated in the United States. During the 1980’s, a new drug became incredibly popular with inner city people, crack cocaine. The crackdown on crack was harsher than on cocaine because cocaine was mainly used in the suburbs where all the middle class white people lived compared the use of crack cocaine which was mainly used by people of color who lived in the inner city. The mandatory sentencing for crack cocaine was much higher than sentencing for powder cocaine. The news had a considerable amount of influence on criminalizing African American men.
The House I Live In: The War On Drugs
1339 Words | 6 PagesThe House I Live in: The War on Drugs The U.S. have been facing the war on drugs during many years. It 's war that will never end. A war that the U.S. will never be able to win. The drug war affects most of the poor and the minority groups, including their family members.
African American Drug War
733 Words | 3 PagesThe 2002 University of Washington made a study about the drug war in Seattle. They focused on African Americans and whites who both races sold drugs. The study found that white people were the ones who had a bigger drug business than African Americans. The only difference was that white people sold drugs in doors. They were located in middle class neighborhoods where there was no crime going on, therefore; it was more difficult for the police to detect their criminal activity.
Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow Summary
1075 Words | 5 PagesIn The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in The Era of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, she begins by points out the underlying problem in our Criminal Justice system. The problem being prioritizing the control of those in this racial caste rather than focusing on reasonable punishment and efforts to deter crime. Alexander begins by speaking of her experience as a civil rights lawyer and what soon became her priority after seeing a poster that mentioned how the war on drugs is the new jim crow when it comes to the application and outcome of it. As Alexander points out the correlation between the war on drugs and it being the new jim crow, she discusses the mass incarceration that is prevalent in our society and the number of African American
Thesis Statement On The Mexican Drug War
729 Words | 3 PagesThe Mexican drug war In this essay I will present for you the ongoing low intensity drug war in Mexico. My thesis statement for this essay is “The intervenient of the Mexican government have affected the countries murdering rate and economy extremely”. My topic sentences for this is Mexico’s intervenient in the war, the wars effect on the death rate and this wars effect on the Economy. I will in this theme show you the horrifying death rate because of this war and explain to you about the insane corruption of Mexico’s government.
Argumentative Essay On The War On Drugs
865 Words | 4 PagesSome may not be too familiar with the war on drugs and the effects it has had on the society we live in. The war on drugs was started by the Nixon administration in the early seventies. Nixon deemed drug abuse “public enemy number one”. This was the commencement of the war on drugs, this war has lasted to this day and has been a failure. On average 26 million people use opioids.
More about African American Drug War Essay
Social Problems In The African-American Community
1082 Words | 5 PagesAnalysis Of The Movie 13th
970 Words | 4 PagesBlack Crack Cocaine Research Paper
108 Words | 1 PagesNew Jim Crow Introduction
239 Words | 1 PagesMatthew Cooke's How To End The War On Drugs
1254 Words | 6 PagesMass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander
1006 Words | 5 PagesEssay On Ronald Reagan's War On Drugs
1865 Words | 8 PagesAfrican American Incarceration Research Paper
250 Words | 1 PagesNew World Slavery In America
1000 Words | 4 PagesEssay On The Movie 13th
1859 Words | 8 PagesThe House I Live In: The War On Drugs
1339 Words | 6 PagesAfrican American Drug War
733 Words | 3 PagesMichelle Alexander The New Jim Crow Summary
1075 Words | 5 PagesThesis Statement On The Mexican Drug War
729 Words | 3 PagesArgumentative Essay On The War On Drugs
865 Words | 4 Pages