Black Men Quotes
Two decades earlier leading Black politicians, observing the differential deleterious effects of drug use on Blacks called for a massive Federal effort to diminish substance abuse. The War on Drugs responded and reduced the drug use in America somewhat. However, the unintended consequences—especially for Blacks—caused many Black politicians to call for an end or serious curtailing to the War on Drugs. The differential effect on Black males was dramatic. White drug dealing tended to occur in private offices and homes where black dealing takes place to a greater extent on the streets where the lower level dealers are much more likely to be caught. The differential penal;ties for possession or selling of powdered cocaine (preferred by whites) and crack cocaine (preferred by Blacks) caused many more Blacks to be jailed. With less access to the better attornies, the Bplacks tend to get longer sentences, even for the same crime. In addition, the drug of choice for most whites is alcohol which was made legal while the drugs of choice for Blacks are illegal. In many Black urban neighborhoods like Newark, the majority of young Black men arwere in jail for ddrug law violations. See {624056} for a concurring opinion.
Note that he referred to the “martyred President” as if Lincoln had recently been assassinated. It was actually 33 years after, and many of his audience had lived through what for most was their greatest national trauma. Springfield was the hometown of Lincoln and many in the audience had served under Lincoln in the Union Army. At that time, a statement like this praising Blacks was hated in the South, and unusual even in the North. However, politically the Solid South then always voted for the Democrats, so he and his party would never win any Southern States anyway, but the KKK was active in Illinois and many other Northern States. Adjacent Indiana was the headquarters of the KKK. There was much racism in the North so this speech was quite courageous. Republican Presidents Hayes, McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt made significant inroads in the racial problem and brought Blacks into Federal jobs. The progress, however, was totally undone by Woodrow Wilson who fired most Blacks who had gotten Federal jobs. Wilson needed the Southern legislators which was a major component of his party. He also came from New Jersey which had a strong KKK element who pressured him. Jim Crowe, the KKK and racism increased and the Republican Presidents thereafter did little for Civil rights. The great progress was made by Democratic Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Truman, and Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party replaced the Republicans as the Civil Rights party, and the Southern Democratic politicians switched to the Republican Party ending its traditional leadership in race relations
The vast majority of the million Blacks in prison have been sentenced for using or selling drugs.
