{"product_id":"when-crack-was-king-a-peoples-history-of-a-misunderstood-era","title":"When Crack Was King","description":"\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD - A \u003cb\u003e\"vivid and frank\" (NPR)\u003c\/b\u003e account of the crack cocaine era and a community's ultimate resilience, told through a cast of characters whose lives illuminate the dramatic rise and fall of the epidemic\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A master class in disrupting a stubborn narrative, a monumental feat for the fraught subject of addiction in Black communities.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A poignant and compelling re-examination of a tragic era in America history . . . insightful . . . and deeply moving.\"--Bryan Stevenson, author of the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003eJust Mercy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD - \u003c\/b\u003eONE OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND \u003ci\u003eVULTURE\u003c\/i\u003e'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003eA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eTime, The Washington Post, \u003c\/i\u003eNPR, Chicago Public Library, \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, She Reads, Electric Lit, The Mary Sue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe 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 analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen Crack Was King\u003c\/i\u003e 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 the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a \"crack house\"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWeaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, \u003ci\u003eWhen Crack Was King\u003c\/i\u003e is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve.","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51669716926754,"sku":"9780525511816","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/8637\/3154\/files\/imageloader_0c5c2e63-f455-47b5-9009-fdd887ec1db9.jpg?v=1779711075","url":"https:\/\/godmothers.com\/products\/when-crack-was-king-a-peoples-history-of-a-misunderstood-era","provider":"Godmothers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}