the crack era. I’m not even from the “hood”, and I lost a couple close family members (an uncle and a cousin.) My wife is from a rougher area more directly impacted by the crack and the war on drugs. She’s lost two brothers, an aunt, and a nephew.

All of these family members have been killed because of some connection to crack/the war on drugs. Her aunt never used at all, but dated a man who started using crack and ended up owing a drug dealer. Instead of killing the boyfriend, the dealer kidnapped my wife’s aunt, tortured her to the point that she was almost unrecognizable, and killed her. My wife’s brother did time in prison for selling. Not long after getting out he was shot and killed, and they dumped his body on the steps of a church. It was an execution. Police never found the killers, but likely that he either owed a supplier or someone didn’t like that he got out.

I could tell more stories but that isn’t the point. I mentioned some deaths but didn’t even get into the numbers of folks still locked up due to the war on drugs. PLENTY of Black families are still directly impacted and still crying over the crack era.