When crack was king : a people's history of a misunderstood era Cover Image

Book

When crack was king : a people's history of a misunderstood era / Donovan X. Ramsey.

Summary:

"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"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9780525511809
ISBN: 0525511806
Physical Description: xi, 427 pages ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : One World, [2023]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-407) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction -- Act I: The origins. Elgin -- Lennie -- Kurt -- Shawn -- Act II: Incubation. Dreams and nightmares -- Lennie (1965-72) -- Shawn (1967) -- Kurt (1969-78) -- Ain't no stoppin' us now (1979) -- Lennie (1972-78) -- Act III: outbreak. Superdrug -- Shawn (1978-80) -- Lennie (1978) -- Kurt (1978-84) -- Elgin (1975-86) -- Shawn (1980-85) -- Lennie (1978-80) -- Act IV: Expansion. Ready rock -- From paupers to princes -- Lennie (1980-82) -- Hype (1981-86) -- Shawn (1985-86) -- Act V: Surge. Lennie -- Kurt (1984-88) -- Shawn (1987) -- Elgin (1987-89) -- War (1986-88) -- Act VI: Peak. Shawn (1988) -- Elgin (1989-92) -- Czar (1989-90) -- Shawn (1990) -- The life -- Act VII: Decline. War II (1990-94) -- Kurt (1992-96) -- Shawn (1994) -- Conspiracy (1980-98) -- Kurt (1996-97) -- Act VIII: Recovery. Intervention (1989-96) -- Elgin (1992-present) -- Shawn (1997-present) -- Kurt (1998-present) -- Lennie (1990s-present) -- After crack.