For nearly three decades, federal laws mandated that a person found holding 500 grams of powder cocaine would face a five-year mandatory minimum; crack offenders would have to be in possession of only five grams to face the same sentence. Crack is cheaper to manufacture, and many who thought the law was racially biased pointed to an estimated 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine convictions. In August of 2010, Congress enacted the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The law was designed to reduce that disparity to an 18-to-1 ratio.
To say Hip Hop has a sordid history with crack cocaine would be a bit of an understatement to say the least. While there are plenty of tracks like N.W.A.âs âExpress Yourselfâ and Public Enemyâs âNight of the Living Baseheadsâ that frown upon crack and the damage it does to families and communities, there are a plethora of offerings like âThe 10 Crack Commandmentsâ or â1-900-HUSTLERâ that take a more flattering look at selling crack.
Rapper, philanthropist and occasional actor Saigon is in a unique perspective to comment on the law, as he is also a former inmate. During some downtime, at A3C, we spoke to Sai about The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which went into effect November 1.
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âThe crack era is pretty much over,â Saigon noted. âThe damage is done, but you want to change the laws now? Ainât no more crackheads! Crack is the old drug, so thatâs why theyâre like, âOkay, everyoneâs already in jail. Weâve fucked the whole black community up, so now we can change these laws back.â They should have repealed that shit back in the 80âs when there was a crack epidemic and everything was fucked up.â
A report by the New York Times estimates that 1,800 people were eligible for immediate release Tuesday, when the law went into effect. Ten-year prison terms are now handed down for offenders carrying 280 grams or more, and the mandatory minimum sentence has been eliminated. Still, some experts agree with Saigon that the legislation will continue to impact a disproportionately high number of African Americans.
âWe have a tendency to forget weâre black in America,â Saigon added. âPeople have this perception that they love us now. It wasnât too long ago when we couldnât even use the same fucking bathroom! My mother was alive when segregation was still legal, and she used to have to sit in the back of the bus. My mother couldnât go to the same schools as some white people and get that fucked up education. So youâre telling me in only 50 years, that now they love us and everythingâs great? Nah, they got us more fucked up now by saying, âOh youâre free.â But thereâs nothing free in this country.â
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