Why Black Men Turn To Crack Cocaine To Survive Essay

From 1865 to 1900 African Americans, despite being presumed free; blacks quickly realized they were only free from was the whippings, break-ups from their families, and sexual exploitation. (Experience History 457) African Americans were still force to live with the hostility of whites. It has taken blacks a long time to be freed from the hatred, and discrimination of white southerners, and after decades’ racism among whites still exist today.

"Cocaine and crack are among the most addictive substances known to modern science, and they have already ruined the lives of millions of Americans" (Morganthau and Miller, 208). Cocaine and crack are both dangerous, harmful drugs. Though pleasurable effects can be obtained from these drugs, the use of crack and cocaine cannot be worth the actual consequences that are inflicted on mind and body. The bad effects of these drugs, by far outweigh the good. Because crack and cocaine are so closely related, it is important to have a firm understanding of both drugs.

In the new proactive book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander dives into the not so complicated racial issues that plague this country that we tend to ignore. In all of history, African Americans have had to constantly fight for their freedoms and the right to be considered a human being in this society. It’s very troubling looking back and seeing where we have failed people in this country. At the turn of the century, when people began to think that we had left our old ways behind, this book reminds us that we are wrong. Racism is still alive today in every way, just in different forms.

Crack users range from the Wall Street stockbroker to a homeless person living in Central Park, but by and large this evil drug called crack had its biggest impact on New York’s inner city minority population. A New York doctor, Dr. Mark Gold who is the person who set up and helps run the not for profit organization called 800-COCAINE, a hotline set up to help addicts and perspective users answer questions about the drug and also offers counseling and drug intervention services; suggested that his findings showed that, “occasional users of crack quickly increased, the amount and frequency of crack use until total dependency was achieved.” Men and women who were once law abiding citizens and honest people were now robbing and stealing to pay for the drug, and many who once enjoyed good health were now suffering from a variety of physical and mental aliments springing from their cocaine abuse. Crack brings along with its amazing high, some ominous dangers. Dr. Robert Maslansky is the director of New York City’s Bellevue Hospital

The criminal justice system in the United States is evident of several deep flaws relating to the treatment of black men and women accused of committing criminal offenses. It is logical to believe that due to the U.S.’s rather dark past surrounding the treatment of black Americans, systematic racism is included under the guise of the criminal justice system. The U.S. is historically infamous for it’s open racial discrimination against black Americans, up until systematic racism became one of the more dominant forms of discrimination in the most recent years. Systematic racism has been shrouded under societal ignorance and regulated particularly by social and political groups in order to keep the human rights of black Americans frigid and

“...Jim Crow”, states Michelle Alexander, “appears to die but is then reborn in new form, tailored to the needs and constraints of the time” (page 16). Indeed, as Alexander argues throughout her book, the new Jim Crow of our modern time is ever-present and thriving in the country that is claimed to cater “for all”. This time, mass incarceration is the answer to the country’s troubles. Alexander’s thesis explains that racism is still alive in America through the new Jim Crow despite the progression of the black and brown man. The book focuses on how black men are still subject to the same racism that plagued their ancestors years ago. They are being trapped in a cycle formed by the criminal system which

In light of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, the question has arisen as to the freedom of African Americans. In modern media, there have been assertions that African Americans don’t have social freedom. Do African Americans have social freedom? Documentaries, journal articles, and news stories present case studies that belie widespread practice of racial prejudice. Using Felix E. Oppenheim's model of measuring social freedom, an analysis of these case studies indicate that African Americans, in both the economic and legal systems, are subject to racial discrimination, thereby limiting their social freedoms.

“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these, are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Deplorable, though, is the fact that people of color have systematically had their liberty violated unceasingly throughout our history. Fifty-two years ago, in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Uttered decades ago, these words should have no pertinence in today’s society; yet they still ring loud and reveal the same plight that people of color share today. The real argument, though, is that under the constitution, police have no legal right to rob people of color, or any people for that matter, of their civil liberties; however, people of color are continually targeted, and are treated with such an abysmal impertinence that it should no longer go unnoticed.

The New Jim Crow is a book that discusses how legal practices and the American justice system are harming the African American community as a whole, and it argues that racism, though hidden, is still alive and well in our society because of these practices. In the book, Michelle Alexander, author and legal scholar, argues that legal policies against offenders have kept and continue to keep black men from becoming first class citizens, and she writes that by labeling them as “criminals,” the justice system and society in general is able to act with prejudice against them and subordinate black Americans who were previously incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, by limiting their access to services as a result of their ‘criminal status’ and therefore, further degrading their quality of life. The New Jim Crow urges readers to acknowledge the injustice and racial disparity of our criminal justice system so that this new, more covert form of racism in society can be stopped.

It is said that America is free, all people have equal rights and are treated the same, but when it comes to the lives of black people the same rules should but do not apply. Although African Americans only make up 2% of the U.S. population, they are killed at twice the rate of whites, hispanics and Native Americans, and were 9 times more likely to be killed by police officers in 2015 (Swaine, Laughland, Lartey, McCarthy). Being born black in america means that not only are you more likely to be pulled over by police and hassled, but you are almost 10 times for likely to be shot and murdered by a police officer. ‘Yes, all lives matter, but all lives, white, are not being shot six times the rate of blacks and that’s what we need to be aware of’ (Schwartz).

Furthermore, the data from Figures 1 and 2 on drug arrests and government expenditure on prosecution shows that there seems to be significant heightened drug enforcement over the years. According to this data, from 1981 to 2007 there is a significant increase in both the number of drug arrests and the amount of money that the government decided to spend on drug enforcement. However, in order to deduce the effects of 9/11 on drug enforcement, it is necessary to examine and compare data in the years before and after 2001. The arrest rate in 2000 was 559.71, while the arrest rate in 2005 was 622.68. This indicates that over the course of five years, the number of arrests for possession of narcotics increased by almost six million. Likewise, the

Ernesto Aguilar and Melissa Chiprin’s article “Criminalization of Culture and the Rise of Dissent” examines the U.S. justice system’s use of discriminatory treatment towards African American citizens in order to maintain social order (41). The state oppresses minority races through the use of racism and criminal injustice (42). Furthermore, the majority of the population has limited knowledge on the history of enslavement; thus, they are unaware of past events that have led to an increase in the number of incarcerated African Americans (43). The present U.S. criminal justice system is a reflection of European colonialism and imperialism (44). Moreover, the article illustrates the immense amount of racism that exists within current American

In quite a few lower-class communities, phrases like “your mom is a crack head,” or “shut up crack baby” are said jokingly to make fun of someone during what we call a “rip session.” Although said as a joke, some are very offended by the comments. Why? because for some, crack addiction hits too close to home for comfort. Seeing how easy it is obtained in lower class and poverty stricken neighborhoods, many find themselves falling victim to the powerful substance, crack cocaine. Low sociable economic systems are just one of the many factors that can lead to the use, and addiction of crack cocaine, others include movies, music, peer pressure, alcohol and cigarette ads. In this report I will discuss

The same values that America struggles to uphold is once again shot down and challenged by an evolved variant of the social and political apartheid that America has always faced. It seems that whenever America attempts to close the gap between two demographic groups, another gap is simultaneously expanded. Freedom and equality reach a point of stagnancy and limits, and the definition of America becomes more obscure and ironically undefined. This can be best observed within the borders of the American landscape, as political stances clash left and right in an attempt to clarify just what exactly America is, what it stands for, and why it even stands for such things. America is supposedly defined by freedom yet there have been public condonation of violence towards certain general groups of people by people who claim to stand for freedom. Rather than freedom or equality, America is defined by double standards and hypocrisy, as groups such as the Black Lives Matter organization claim to support the racially oppressed despite members outright calling for unneeded violence towards police officers. Such traits do not befit a nation that claims to be based on equality, let alone freedom, especially if the nation’s internal problems are at an all-time

Black Americans, are a group of people that historically have protested to change legislation to obtain the same rights as others. From the abolishment of slavery, blacks have fought for equality; however, out of every federal intervention there has been a hesitance from White Americans. Currently, police discrimination and excessive force towards Blacks is being protested in America. The death of Travon Martin, who was killed by an off duty police officer without conviction, came the online protest of hashtag (#)BlackLivesMatter. So to accurately state the online protest of BlackLivesMatter began out of the killing of Black American by people in power. The current protest by Black Lives Matter has even spilled over into social media with the hashtag (#) BlackLivesMatter. However, as history would dictate there is a counter protest of #AllLivesMatter. But what leads to a counter protest? Most people would state that police aren’t unbiased towards Blacks. For example, in opposition they will argue that in Eric Gardner’s (choked to death by police) case he was resisting arrest, and they might add in, I don’t see color. Although other races face discrimination and adversities in America this essay will focus on how the idea of colorblindness, defined as not viewing the race of a person, is detrimental to Blacks in America. Even though colorblindness might seem productive it falls short of the goal. Instead colorblindness leads to further discrimination, counterprotest and the