Summary of When Crack Was King By Donovan X. Ramsey: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era

By Willie M. Joseph

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Summary of When Crack Was King By Donovan X. Ramsey: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era

 

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When Crack Was King is a poignant and compelling re-examination of the 1980s and 1990s crack cocaine epidemic, focusing on four individuals who experienced its destruction and legacy. The book follows the lives of Elgin Swift, Lennie Woodley, Kurt Schmoke, and Shawn McCray, all of whom were affected by the epidemic. The book argues for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve, highlighting the impact of the war on drugs and the need for a more inclusive society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Willie M. Joseph
• Release date: Jul 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223196938

Willie M. Joseph

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INTRODUCTION

The author describes growing up in a poor and Black community during the 1980s and '90s during the crack epidemic. They were afraid of Michelle, who lived just a few doors down the block from their family. Michelle was a crackhead, and the author learned to be afraid of her due to the constant conversation about her. The author's mother, a cautious woman, would drag their house phone from room to room and talk at length about Michelle From Down the Street.

The author's mother was a go-to insult for kids, making it a slur because it represented a rock bottom to which anyone could sink. The author was unable to make sense of Michelle's identity, as she lived just down the street and had a family. The author's mother had a policy of mind your business, which was common for many kids growing up in a steel town.

Conversations about crack became more mainstream in the years to come, with Whitney Houston sitting down for a prime-time interview to address rumors of drug use. Houston admitted to having done all at times with crack, but she denied using it. The author surveyed their community and saw its effects in the way their neighborhood was policed. They were stopped, questioned, searched, detained, fined, arrested, jailed, inconvenienced, awakened in the middle of the night, humiliated, and even killed.

School felt like an extension of the streets, with mostly white teachers profiling their classmates as emotionally disturbed or hyperactive. They resisted the low expectations of teachers who regarded them as possible crack babies incapable of learning. Despite their ignorance of the greater forces, they did their best to outrun crack and its accompanying threats.

The author eventually deciphered what the grown-ups wouldn't explain and deduced that their community was in the middle of an invisible war. The crack epidemic in the 1980s was a significant turning point in American history, with the rise of the crack baby myth. The idea that crack babies were born afflicted due to their exposure to cocaine in the womb was a popular one, with some outlets like Time, The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone describing scenes of underdeveloped infants struggling for life in incubators. The national media was in a full-blown panic over crack babies, with some stories evoked pity, while others suggested blame and burden. The storyline continued to captivate readers, with some describing the babies as the tiniest victims of the crack epidemic, deformed, intellectually disabled, and expected to overwhelm taxpayer-funded public services.

Thirty years after Ira Chasnoff's groundbreaking study on the effects of cocaine use in pregnancy, the crack baby myth finally exploded. Hallam Hurt, a neurologist, conducted research in 1988, and found no significant differences in the development between children exposed to cocaine in utero and those who were not. Hurt and other physicians caution against cocaine use during pregnancy, as its effects are similar to those of tobacco. The rise of the crack baby myth has fueled the debate on the impact of cocaine on the mental health of pregnant women and the impact of the drug on their development. Crack addiction has been linked to premature births and the spread of neurologically damaged children.

The New York Times editorial board has acknowledged the paper's role in slandering the unborn, claiming that news organizations have contributed to the moral panic that cast mothers with crack addictions as irretrievably depraved and the worst enemies of their children. The myth of the crack baby, which portrayed Black women as neurotoxic and bankrupting schools and social service agencies, was widely accepted as gospel. The myth persists and distorts the image of Black communities, perpetuating trauma that has largely gone unacknowledged and is being passed down through generations.

Transgenerational trauma, or intergenerational trauma, is a psychological term for trauma that is transferred between generations. After a first generation of survivors experiences trauma, they can transfer their trauma to their children and further generations of offspring via complex mechanisms. Scholar Marianne Hirsch's theory of postmemory explains the relationship between the generation after and the personal, collective, and cultural trauma of those who came before.

Second-generation survivors of trauma face unique challenges on their path toward healing, grappling with the chasm between memories of traumas as they've been transmitted versus the way they're remembered in the larger society. Misinformation, propaganda, misremembering, and ongoing efforts to bury the past by both survivors and its perpetrators complicate the situation.

The United States appears to be turning a corner in its war on drugs, with criticisms of marijuana prohibition merging with criticisms from Black communities of crack-era laws and law enforcement. The Condemnation of Blackness by Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander have refined the argument that the U.S. criminal legal system functions as a means of social control by targeting Black communities through the war on drugs.

In 2015, the author decided to dig into the crack epidemic for himself, seeking to understand the facts of crack, its origins, and how it spread. The hope was to unlock some understanding that might help them better navigate a world that often made no sense.

THE ORIGINS

ELGIN

Elgin Swift, a car salesman with a six-figure salary and a staff of twenty, is a self-made man with a successful business venture. He owns rental properties, publishes a podcast, and has significant investments in cryptocurrency. Swift's style and interests were formed during his childhood in crack-era Yonkers, New York. He met Swift in a search to find people whose relatives struggled with crack addiction. Swift shared his recurring nightmares, which illustrate the traumatic impact of the crack era. These nightmares often start in the apartment or shelter, and end up with Elgin in a prison cell.

Elgin starts to worry about his daughter, Asia, and his father, Stephen, who has been diagnosed with dementia and moved into a care center in the Bronx. He wonders if karma or some higher power will allow him to be fully happy or content considering how he hurt her. Elgin's nightmares also bring to the surface his deepest anxiety, the fear that he will end up back in Yonkers, poor and desperate with no way out.

Elgin is in therapy now, and during his first session, the therapist offered him classic PTSD, which he laughed to himself. The diagnosis was obvious, unexpected, and comforting, as Elgin's past continues to color his life and his New York accent.

LENNIE

Miss Woodley, a middle-aged Black woman, has been addicted to crack for nearly thirty years, almost robbed her of her humanity. Despite her addiction, she managed to hold onto some sense of herself and stand strong in the places where she had been bruised and broken. She is from Los Angeles and refers to her area as the Hood. Miss Woodley's unique blend of linguistic influences makes her stand out, and she is known for her flair, sense of humor, and ease in talking about her experiences. She is like a cool auntie, stylish, self-possessed, and knowing but not judgmental. She has a profile for an L.A.-based substance abuse counselor and her clients range from crack addicts to meth addicts.

Miss Woodley's clients have access to various treatment options and receive support from the public and elected officials, including funding for programs. She shares her own experiences and reflects on the impact of her past and the challenges she faced.

KURT

Crack cocaine was a significant issue in the 1960s, particularly in cities like Baltimore, where unrest and white flight led to the rise of Black leadership. The population shift in the 1970s and 1980s produced Black mayors like David Dinkins, Sharpe James, Tom Bradley, Lionel Wilson, Wilson Goode, Marion Barry, Ernest Morial, Andrew Young, and Kurt Schmoke. Schmoke, a relatively unknown figure, had a remarkable rise from high school quarterback to mayor of his hometown. His intelligence and intelligence were evident in stories about him in The Baltimore Sun.

Schmoke's unusual position on drugs, advocating for drug decriminalization as early as 1988, was well-known within Baltimore. He believed that Baltimore, with its medical and public-health resources, could serve as a model for treating addiction as a public-health issue instead of a criminal one. This position was incorporated into a storyline on the HBO crime drama The Wire, where his proposal to decriminalize drugs came to life as Hamsterdam, a neighborhood created by police major Howard Bunny Colvin to study the potential positive effects of de facto legalization of the drug trade.

During a meeting in 2018, Schmoke was remarkably clean-cut and composed, presenting his perspective on the crack years as mayor of Baltimore and the challenges faced by Black mayors in a major city.

SHAWN

Shawn McCray, a Newark dealer and head coach of boys' basketball at Central High School, has been mentoring and teaching young men the fundamentals of the game he loves. He has bonded