Crack in the System: The Racially Motivated Intentions and Consequences of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

This thesis regards the history and politics surrounding the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act and the transformation of racism in the United States from the late 19^th century to the end of the 20^th century. Examining the history of moral drug panics in the U.S., allows for exploration of how criminal law has historically been used to punish unwanted minorities, especially in times of economic uncertainty. Further discussed are the shifts that took place in the 1960s that changed how Americans viewed urban poverty and crime. After the war on poverty became the war on crime, Reagan's war on drugs intensified the punitive ideology of the war on crime through the issue of illegal drugs. The media's onslaught of coverage on the "demon drug" crack cocaine in 1986 furthered public panic. The media's coverage, steeped in racial animus and depicting crack users and dealers as urban black males, tapped into the public's latent race-based fears. From here, the draconian "crack statute" was passed by a hasty Congress- affected by the election year sensitivity. Thus, the unjust and unfounded 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine was made law, overwhelmingly punishing young, black males and perpetuating an unequal system that works to stifle black progress and racial equality.