President Ronald Reagan's fraudulent war on drugs was a catastrophe for the black community. Furthermore, the disproportionate incarceration of African-Americans, particularly males, has been declared a "public health emergency" by various legal scholars. According to Professor Kenneth Nunn, When the drug war began, recreational drug use was actually on the decline (Nunn, "Race Crime and The Pool of Surplus Criminality: Or Why the 'War on Drugs' Was a 'War on Blacks'"). What made Ronald Reagan declare a war on drugs if there wasn't a war to begin with? Unjust sentencing practices, improper education (or a lack thereof), poverty, police misconduct, and a fraudulent war on drugs have contributed to unbalanced incarceration of black males within the American criminal justice arena. Blacks often find themselves unfairly sentenced or incarcerated for minor offenses, i.e. driving while black, walking while black, etc. Matt Tabbi, an award winning author and journalist, gave our English 102 class a crucial insight into the blatant bigotry and racism that is occurring in New York City! In Tabbi's article,  I was shocked and saddened to learn that the city of New York has turned into a disorderly jungle of some sort -- police officers stopped, frisked, and arrested minorities for no justifiable reason. Apparently, the constitution doesn't apply to Rudy Guliani or his police force, consisting of Gestapo like creatures. The consequences of disproportionate incarceration are brutal -- incarcerating African Americans disturbs the family structure, and greatly limits African-Americans in exercising their constitutional rights (voting), and getting employment after leaving prison. Unfair sentencing procedures towards minorities have bred a culture of grave injustice within the fabric of the criminal justice system. Reagan's war on drugs is responsible for the increase in the prison population within the USA- and also, the disproportionate number of incarcerated African Americans. Getting tough on drugs didn't help our country, it robbed a people group of their constitutional rights and civil liberties--sentencing them to death.

Ronald Reagan's lies are what ultimately paved the way for the increase in prison populations across America, and disproportional incarceration. In Reagan's infamous dual radio address, he, along with his wife, lists grievances against drug traffickers and pushers, and outline a plan to eradicate drug usage in America. Nancy Reagan said, "I've heard -- stories of families where lying replaces trust, hate replaces love; stories of children stealing from their mothers' purses; stories of parents not knowing about drugs, and then not believing that the children were on them, and finally not understanding that help was available. I've heard time and again of children with excellent grades, athletic promise, outgoing personalities, but who, because of drugs, became shells of their former selves" (Reagan, 1982). 

Nancy Reagan was suggesting that drugs were the sole problem for crime within suburban communities, not broken family structures, or irresponsible life choices. In an urban community or setting, crime would be blamed on the notion that people within the community are "inherently criminal." Ms. Reagan sought to alleviate responsibility from suburbanites, and instead,  implicated drug traffickers for their role in the demise of "good children."

In response to the fabricated drug problem, President Reagan creates a task force under George Bush: "This garden spot had turned into a battlefield for competing drug pushers who were terrorizing Florida's citizens. I established a task force under Vice President Bush's leadership to help the citizens of south Florida fight back. As part of a coordinated plan, we beefed up the number of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement people. We used military radar and intelligence to detect drug traffickers, which, until we changed the law, could not be done. We increased efforts overseas to cut drugs off before they left other countries' borders" (Reagan, 1982). Regan says that under George Bush's leadership, drug arrests in Miami went up 40%, the amount of marijuana seized increased 80%, and cocaine seizures doubled. George Bush's task force would be used as a precursor, as Reagan's war on drugs was implemented nationally. Reagan's program was a success in the eyes of his neocon followers. Arresting drug offenders and prosecuting drug pushers is good fodder for prejudiced news stations (i.e. Fox News).  However, the implementation of his program had devastating consequences for the African-American community.

In the 1980's and early 90's, the prison population in America exploded as a result of Ronald Reagan's fabricated "War on Drugs." Unfortunately, one ethnic group in particularly bore the brunt of the punishment, African-Americans.  Consequently, black people were incarcerated for minor drug offenses at an overwhelming rate. "Federal resources were used to specifically target lower income, and urban communities. Although African Americans don't engage in illicit drug use as often as Caucasians, Blacks are still jailed at significantly higher rate, for petty drug charges" (Fellner, "Incarceration and Race"). According to Antonio Moore, "there are more black men incarcerated in the US than the total prison populations of India, Argentina, Canada, Lebanon, Japan, Germany, Finland, Israel, and England -- COMBINED" (Moore, "The Black Male Incarceration Is Real and It's Catastrophic"). Moore also claims that the number of black men in prison is nearly equivalent to the number of black men in college. "For black men, there are approximately 1.4 million in college and 745,000 in prison (Moore, "The Black Male Incarceration is Real and It's Catastrophic"). Furthermore, in states that have a predominantly white population, "black people are more than 10 times as likely as white people to be in state prison or jail" (Guo). Additionally, "states spend approximately 7.6 billion dollars per year, to keep roughly 370,000 African-American men behind bars" (Harris, Miller 169). Don't you think we could use 7.6 billion dollars to help deteriorating schools in Abbeville, SC (CORRIDOR OF SHAME), rather than incarcerating black men for mostly petty drug offenses? This aforementioned data is shocking and appalling to me, as an African-American; this makes me feel privileged to grow up in a relatively stable home environment with two parents who are college graduates. So, only a Reagan or Donald Trump supporter would agree that Reagan's "war on drugs" benefited America or the African-American community. Next, we will explore how Reagan's war on drugs affected the implementation of unjust laws, and the detrimental consequences Reagan's policies had on the African-American community. 

"The position of most black men, relative to white men, is no better now than how things stood after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965" ( Ingraham, "Charting the shocking rise of racial disparity in our criminal justice system"). Dear reader, I request you to ponder on this statement for a moment! What does this mean to you?  It means we haven't fully advanced as a society or achieved racial equality -- and Reagan's war on drugs exacerbated racial injustice and inequality in our society. "On any given day in 2010, almost one in ten black men, ages 20-39, were institutionalized" (Ingraham, "Charting the shocking rise of racial disparity in our criminal justice system"). The disproportional incarceration rate has reached such dire straits, that "more than one out of every six black men, who today should be between 25-54 years old, have disappeared from daily life" (Hardt, Quealy, Wolfers, "1.5 Million Missing Black Men"). It seems as if the intent of Reagan's War on Drugs rested in the intent on incarcerating black males. Christopher Ingraham, a writer for the Washington Post, also mentions the fact that a lack of education determines the rate at which African American males are incarcerated. "By 2010, nearly a third of black, male high school dropouts, aged 25-29, were imprisoned or otherwise -- institutionalized" ("Ingraham, "Charting the shocking rise of racial disparity in our criminal justice system"). Therefore, knowledge and education is the most essential key to staying out of prison -- for African-American males.

Reagan's war on drugs has had a diabolic effect on the dynamics of the African American familial structure. In R. Robin Miller and Othello Harris's book, "The Impact of Incarceration on African-American families," Miller and Harris say, "Nearly half of ALL incarcerated men are fathers" (5). According to the US Dept. of Justice, "incarcerated people typically have a tenth grade education, and it is likely that their female partners have similar educational backgrounds" (qtd. in Harris & Miller, 170). Therefore, when a man goes to prison, his partner, lover, or spouse is left in an economic rut; she probably lacks the skills to go to college, or pursue a decent career path that will support herself or her kids. Families of black males, who are incarcerated, are often on the lower spectrum of the economic grid. Furthermore, incarceration inherently deteriorates family dynamics because, "traditionally, black households have depended on dual support (i.e., the man and woman of the household) for economic survival; therefore, if a black man is incarcerated, the impact of his incarceration is more severe" (Harris & Miller, 170). Sadly, children are adversely affected by their fathers' imprisonment.  "Children whose fathers are incarcerated feel abandoned, which also leads to problems such as difficulty sleeping, eating, and completing school work" (Harris & Miller, 175). Harris and Miller believe that there needs to be a retroactive solution pertaining to the problems of incarceration, and injustice within the African American community: "Clinical Services (Psychologists, Social Workers, and Psychiatrists) are needed to build upon indigenous cultural strengths, and help African-Americans develop adaptive, and proactive responses to institutional racism, discrimination, and incarceration" (Harris & Miller, 175). 

Reagan's War on Drugs has had constitutional consequences and has yielded itself to controversial legislation that has specifically and purposely targeted the African American community. An interesting article written by Shara Tonn, enlightens social justice advocates about the potential harm that conveying statistics, pertaining to disproportionate incarceration, has had on the fight against injustice: "But informing the white public of this disproportionate incarceration rate may actually bolster support for the very policies that perpetuate the inequality, according to a study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science" (qtd. in Tonn, "Stanford research suggests support for incarceration mirrors whites' perception of black prison populations"). I believe the reason why "certain" whites, particularly racist ones, are eager to support controversial legislation, i.e. "Stop and Frisk" and "Three-strikes- and you're out, is because of the preconceived notion, which suggests that African-Americans are inherently criminal. This stereotype has been passed down from generation to generation, and consequently, it is embedded in many individuals from an early age. Professor James D. Unnever, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida, certainly agrees: "Whites view racial injustices in policing as a response to black criminality, whereas, blacks believe that racial injustices within policing stem from racism and racial discrimination" (Unnever). Police departments prey and target poor urban African-American communities. "It's easier for police officers to make arrests in large urban communities, because drug dealing is likely to occur in broad daylight or on street corners" (qtd. in Nunn, "Race, Crime and the Pool of Surplus Criminality: Or Why the 'War on Drugs' Was a 'War on Blacks'"). Furthermore, "white officers are more likely to arrest African Americans under circumstances where they would not arrest whites" (qtd. in Nunn, "Race, Crime and the Pool of Surplus Criminality: Or Why the 'War on Drugs' Was a 'War on Blacks'"). I have seen this aforementioned scenario a plethora of times in this country; for example, the former Lt. Governor of South Carolina, Andre Bauer, who happens to be white, was driving recklessly, travelling over 100 mph in his state vehicle. Mr. Bauer was pulled over by a cop, and was allowed to leave without being arrested, or without being ticketed. On the other hand, there was a world renowned African American professor, Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested outside his apartment, in a prestigious neighborhood, for allegedly breaking into his own apartment! The notion which suggests that blacks are incarcerated or arrested because they are inherently criminal is the fabricated notion that is being challenged in the two aforementioned scenarios. Why was Mr. Gates arrested and incarcerated, in spite of being a war renowned Harvard Professor? Why wasn't the Lt. Governor arrested and prosecuted? Do you think "white privilege" played a significant role in the alleged innocence of Andre Bauer? I'm not going to get into that, but I think you understand my point -- No African-American or minority is safe from unjust police practices or a purposely corrupt legal system which seeks to methodically eradicate the African-American male population from American society!

Lastly, I want to take an opportunity to discuss how crack/cocaine has contributed to the disproportionate incarceration of African-American people. Crack is a form of cocaine, which is commonly sold in poorer communities. Powdered cocaine is commonly sold in suburban or wealthy neighborhoods. Scientists have concluded that there is no substantial difference between powdered cocaine and crack. But, legislators have made stiffer sentences for those who use crack/cocaine rather than powdered cocaine. Thus specifically targeting poor, urban, African-American communities!

In conclusion, disproportionate incarceration is not just a black issue -- it is an American issue! The cause of justice or equality isn't specifically pertinent to African-American people. Women, Hispanics, Native Americans, and other minority groups are subject to mistreatment in our great nation. It is essential that we as minorities help each other in order to combat injustice and inequality. No one in this nation is safe if the rights of a few are violated! The great Frederick Douglass says: "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe!"

