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by Clifford A. Schaffer
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IntroductionThere have been many people who have rightly criticized the fact that the drug policy reform movement has not made major allies in the black community - despite the fact that the black community is clearly the most severely impacted by the drug war. Instead, the reaction in the black community is often one of even greater calls for law enforcement presence and even greater support for the drug war. While this is largely true, it is simply a matter that most black people (like most white people) don't realize how we got to where we are today with the drug problem. As soon as it is explained in terms that are relevant and understandable to them, they readily understand and agree with the need for reform - specifically, not putting nearly so many people in prison. I have always found it relatively easy to get black people, particularly black leaders, to support drug policy reform. They will not support "legalization", but they will support specific steps of reform which both they and the "legalizers" agree are necessary. They already have a problem with too many liquor stores in their communities, so they will not support ideas which look like you are going to open up a legal chain of crack houses. They can be expected to argue for the point that we simply need to stop and look at what we are doing, and seriously question the whole program. They will also support and argue for constructive, rather than destructive approaches to the problem. Ultimately, many black leaders will tell you privately that they support "legalization", if they are just given the facts as a basis for their view. However, they will still have a significant problem with the public presentation. One church leader told us that his church had once issued a health kit which included various first aid items, educational materials, phone numbers to call, a lot of other things, and a condom. He said there was a storm of controversy about nothing but the condom and they eventually had to take it out of the package because they were spending all their time explaining it and defending it to people, so they couldn't get anything else done. They ultimately figured that it would be better to distribute the same package with everything but the condom. It is sad, but it is a functional reality of the community they live in. It is one task to persuade them of the need for reform. It is another task to help them find ways that they can address the issue with their own community. How to Find Them, Approach Them, and Win Them Over
QuestionsI have listed below, a number of the common questions which will come up in such an interview, whether they are explicitly stated or not. What is their biggest concern?Their biggest single concern at this point is the ongoing massive destruction of black men. Black men are being rendered "economically dead" by the massive imposition of prison sentences. Their point of view may be somewhat skewed, in that they may view this as a result of the drugs, not the laws, and it may not have occurred to them that, as bad as drugs are, criminal punishment is not the way to address the problem. Why did this white boy come all the way over here to tell this to me?Because I am concerned about the drug war for my own reasons, and I have the good sense to recognize that there are other people who would also have concerns, for their own reasons. We will both achieve better results if we work together toward common goals. And, just as a matter of common sense and common decency, I think it is pretty stupid to lock up half of all the black men in America. There has to be a better way. Why should I trust you?Don't trust me. Trust yourself. I will simply give you a point of view and the evidence which I think firmly supports it. I think the evidence will shock you, but I don't ask you to believe it. I will give you the reference sources where I got it, and I encourage you to do your own research and let me know of any facts or issues that I have missed. My strongest allies have always come from the people who went to the library and verified what I said. Why should black people support drug policy reform?
Are you asking me to support legalization?Not at all. I am asking you to recognize the simple proposition that prison has become a bigger threat to black men than the drugs themselves. Black men can, and do, recover from drug problems and go on to live productive lives. They have a much harder time recovering from a long stretch in prison. We need to discourage drug use but we do not need to destroy their lives in order to save them. But some of these guys are dangerous and need to be locked up!I fully admit that there are a good number of black men out there who are dangerous and should be locked up for the good of society. But we have now reached the point where about half of all the young black men in America will have spent at least one stretch in prison before they are thirty. I find it hard to believe that we have to lock up half of all the young black men in America for the good of society. Whenever the numbers get that large, we must stop and ask ourselves if this is really the best course of action. Don't we need some jails?Certainly we do. But we learned long ago that, as bad as alcohol is, Prohibition only caused more problems than it solved. In the current situation, we can use our money to put one more black man in prison, or we can use the same amount of money to provide education or treatment to more than one hundred black men. Suppose that someone gave us the decision on where we should spend the next million dollars of tax money on this problem - what should we do? Should we provide education and treatment for up to two hundred people, or should we put two more drug dealers in jail? How can I speak about this publicly?
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