When Crack Was King

Donovan X. Ramsey tells the story of the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 90s, correcting long-held assumptions and personalizing the issue by following four individuals: a promising Black basketball player who became a crack dealer in Newark NJ; a white dude from Yonkers NY whose father turned their home into a crackhouse; a Black girl from South Central LA who started smoking crack to deaden the pain from years of parental abuse; and the first Black mayor of Baltimore, whose early attempts to decriminalize drug use were doomed to fail.

The 350+ pages read like a novel. Ramsey knows when to step back and provide historical context, but the bulk of the book is devoted to exploring how and why each of his engaging subjects were impacted by crack. The three that were most directly involved with the drug have turned their lives around, demonstrating their resilience and debunking the myth that its addictive properties were irreparable. Ramsey doesn't give a lot of credence to the theory that the government purposefully introduced crack into Black neighborhoods. However, he shows undeniable evidence that, by secretly meddling in Latin American politics and drug cartels, the government knowingly allowed crack to be brought into our country.

These days, medically-assisted treatment and harm reduction strategies are promoted, likely because the opioid epidemic hit white communities first. The “blame the victim, arrest our way out of this problem” mentality of the crack epidemic stands as a stark and shameful contrast.