When Crack Was King
A People's History of a Misunderstood Era
(Sprache: Englisch)
"The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting work exposes the undeniable links between the last...
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"The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting work exposes the undeniable links between the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement and the consequences we live with today-a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy. Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and a sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, former mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and lastly, Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers"--
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1Elgin
Elgin Swift is one face of the American Dream. The forty-five-year-old car salesman earns a six-figure salary and manages a staff of twenty. Just as important: Elgin is self-made, having been promoted from sales representative more than fifteen years ago. Before that, he worked his way up from busboy to manager at a small Italian restaurant.
He also has a number of successful business ventures. Elgin owns rental properties, publishes a popular podcast, and has significant investments in cryptocurrency. His success in business has provided him with all the creature comforts one could want: a luxury condo, designer clothes, and a lifestyle that includes plenty of travel, fine dining, and leisure activities.
Elgin is practically indistinguishable from the other middle-aged white men commuting into New York City every day from New Jersey. He s of average height and weight. He keeps the hair on his head and his beard closely cropped. His prominent nose and large dark eyes render him ethnically ambiguous. He could be Italian, Jewish, Latino. But upon close inspection, there are some things that set him apart. His narrow face is always framed by a neat line-up that fades to skin above the ears. He loves the boom bap of eighties hip hop, graffiti, and classic sneakers. He s also obsessed with making money, the art of the hustle.
His style and interests were formed during his childhood in crack-era Yonkers, New York. He s now years and miles away from that reality, but Elgin s past continues to color his life as much as his New York accent colors his speech.
I met Elgin Swift in my search to find people whose relatives struggled with crack addiction. I encountered hundreds after putting out an open call via social media platforms, and people shared with me things they d never told anyone about loved ones and relationships lost to crack.
I interviewed Swift after one of his friends insisted we connect. To be honest, I was reluctant
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at first to include him a white man in a book on how the Black community survived the crack era, but I became convinced the more we talked that his story might illustrate crack s almost gravitational pull, the way it touched anyone and everyone close to poor Black and Latino people in the nation s urban centers.
Swift described the unique racial mix but broad poverty of Yonkers in the seventies and eighties. He detailed his childhood in the streets, the way he was neglected by his addict father but adopted by the Black and Latino people around him. I knew I had to write about him, however, after he shared his recurring nightmares with me, terrifying visions that illustrate the traumatic impact of the crack era.Their details vary. Sometimes they start in the apartment or in the shelter. They all end up the same. He dreamed recently that he was on vacation in Mexico walking past a tree when, suddenly, a zebra fell out of it. The zebra s legs were broken, and it was shaking uncontrollably. All Elgin could do was pet the animal in an attempt to comfort it. But eventually the police came, and they assumed that he d broken the zebra s legs. As in all his nightmares, Elgin wound up in a prison cell. In the nightmare, his cell was a three-by-three room not even big enough to spread his arms in. He remembers thinking that he couldn t live like that, that his only option was to kill himself.
Everything comes rushing to the surface after Elgin has those nightmares. He starts to worry that maybe he spoiled his daughter, Asia, that he did her a disservice by giving her things instead of his undivided attention and time.
Then he starts thinking about his father, Stephen, and wondering whether it s worth it to give things one last try. The last he heard, the old man had been diagnosed with dementia and m
Swift described the unique racial mix but broad poverty of Yonkers in the seventies and eighties. He detailed his childhood in the streets, the way he was neglected by his addict father but adopted by the Black and Latino people around him. I knew I had to write about him, however, after he shared his recurring nightmares with me, terrifying visions that illustrate the traumatic impact of the crack era.Their details vary. Sometimes they start in the apartment or in the shelter. They all end up the same. He dreamed recently that he was on vacation in Mexico walking past a tree when, suddenly, a zebra fell out of it. The zebra s legs were broken, and it was shaking uncontrollably. All Elgin could do was pet the animal in an attempt to comfort it. But eventually the police came, and they assumed that he d broken the zebra s legs. As in all his nightmares, Elgin wound up in a prison cell. In the nightmare, his cell was a three-by-three room not even big enough to spread his arms in. He remembers thinking that he couldn t live like that, that his only option was to kill himself.
Everything comes rushing to the surface after Elgin has those nightmares. He starts to worry that maybe he spoiled his daughter, Asia, that he did her a disservice by giving her things instead of his undivided attention and time.
Then he starts thinking about his father, Stephen, and wondering whether it s worth it to give things one last try. The last he heard, the old man had been diagnosed with dementia and m
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Autoren-Porträt von Donovan X. Ramsey
Donovan X. Ramsey
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Donovan X. Ramsey
- 2023, 448 Seiten, Maße: 16,1 x 23,9 cm, Gebunden, Englisch
- Verlag: ONE WORLD
- ISBN-10: 0525511806
- ISBN-13: 9780525511809
- Erscheinungsdatum: 10.10.2023
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
A compassionate and urgent story that centers the victims of this superdrug, When Crack Was King is an illuminating look at the devastating, racialized impacts of the U.S. criminal justice system and a warning for us to do better as more drug epidemics rear their ugly heads. Time[A] panoramic social history . . . Ramsey aims to give the story of the crack epidemic a human face while telling it from start to finish, a herculean task. By and large he succeeds. The New York Times
[Ramsey] makes a convincing case that government policies criminalized what was essentially a public health crisis, and he busts some of the most pernicious media-generated myths of the epidemic including the much ballyhooed threat of the crack baby. NPR
We haven t reckoned with the crack era, or pinned it as the historical marker it was. . . . Ramsey gives the full view, from teenagers who grew up in the shadow of crack to city leaders who got overwhelmed by it. The sweep is long overdue. Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic
[Ramsey] looks at the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s from several perspectives, from a Newark drug kingpin to a former Baltimore mayor to a longtime addict, and asks the reader to reconsider the details of a life-shattering scourge. Boston Globe
[When Crack Was King] manages to convey the scope of history while also remaining grounded in the specific and personal. And it feels particularly relevant as America stares down another drug epidemic with no clear end in sight. Los Angeles Times
Ramsey takes a wide and necessary view of the choices sinister and well-meaning alike that led to the epidemic. To complement his sweeping historical and political analysis, Ramsey also spends time with individual people who weathered the worst of the era and lived to share its lessons. The Millions
Illuminating . . . For all its traumas, When Crack Was King . . . is also a
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narrative of redemption, telling of the thousands of extraordinary decisions by ordinary people that brought the crack epidemic to an end. The Guardian
Beautifully composed and carefully researched, When Crack Was King is a thoroughgoing survey of the crack epidemic. Since I lived through it, I thought I knew about this period until I read this clear-eyed book. Ibram X. Kendi, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist
Forget what you think you know about the crack era, because this definitive account resets the record. Both unflinching and compassionate, it has the power to expand your heart. It s a stunning and unforgettable debut. Heather McGhee, author of New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us
Donovan X. Ramsey tells the story of the crack era its causes, victims, and survivors with insight and compassion. If you re anything like me, you won t soon forget the characters on these pages. James Forman Jr., Pulitzer Prize winning author of Locking Up Our Own
Beautifully composed and carefully researched, When Crack Was King is a thoroughgoing survey of the crack epidemic. Since I lived through it, I thought I knew about this period until I read this clear-eyed book. Ibram X. Kendi, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist
Forget what you think you know about the crack era, because this definitive account resets the record. Both unflinching and compassionate, it has the power to expand your heart. It s a stunning and unforgettable debut. Heather McGhee, author of New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us
Donovan X. Ramsey tells the story of the crack era its causes, victims, and survivors with insight and compassion. If you re anything like me, you won t soon forget the characters on these pages. James Forman Jr., Pulitzer Prize winning author of Locking Up Our Own
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