Also American
Struggle & ResistanceAchievement & Excellence

1980s

1980–1989

The crack epidemic and the War on Drugs reshape Black America.

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Oppression
The crack epidemic & the War on Drugs

Mass arrests devastate Black communities.

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1980
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1981
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1982
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1983
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1984
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1985
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1986
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1987
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1988
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1989
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Key events

  1. 1985
    The crack epidemic devastates Black cities

    Cheap crack cocaine floods urban neighborhoods, met with mass arrests rather than treatment.

  2. October 27, 1986
    The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

    Mandatory minimums punish crack 100x more harshly than powder cocaine, devastating Black defendants.

  3. May 13, 1985
    The MOVE bombing

    Philadelphia police drop a bomb on a Black liberation group's home, killing eleven and burning a block.

  4. November 2, 1983
    Martin Luther King Jr. Day signed into law

    A federal holiday honoring Dr. King is established after years of campaigning.

Resources from this period