He made sure crack was associated with the black community and was punished at 10 times that of cocaine.
The part I found new and interesting was her discussion on how Reagan manufactured (with the help of the CIA) a crack cocaine problem. Until we have equitable school funding, racial inequality will be stymied at its root.
We spend far more on defense, police and prisons than we do on education educating our citizens is an investment which will pay dividends in the long run. First and foremost, we need to increase that funding. I realize my own experiences inside the system has certainly shaped my perspective, but in my opinion one the best ways for us to begin moving towards greater racial equality is to look at how schools are funded. We got equal funding as the other schools even as administrators were preaching to us the importance of equity within our classrooms. Even though our needs (supported by data) demonstrated our students needed more resources (homelessness, mental health, special education needs), the district continued to deny equitable funding. I worked in a title 1 school, but in our district also had very wealthy schools. Sadly, these economic inequalities have become so exaggerated in our country today that the parents who should be the angriest are more focused on working 2-3 jobs just to survive and do not have the time to address and correct these inequalities because in public education parents have a much greater voice than teachers. This is a social way of insuring not only racial but also socioeconomic inequalities. The weaponization of education is demonstrated in denying funds and reducing services to the schools and children who need the most. As a teacher, I think it is important to note to the general public how often public education is used as a political weapon. Part of this chapter again discusses how laws are manipulated specifically to exclude black children from public education. I have needed time to process each chapter and I highly recommend all Americans to read this book telling a history we rarely learn about. I realize that this speaks to my privilege, but reading this book slowly is a reflection of how “chewy” the material discussed in it is. This book is emotionally difficult to read during a pandemic while we are seeing BLM protesters be violently attacked by the police.
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