Modern Day Slavery: Racism and the Drug War

Slavery is defined as the act of keeping a person as a piece of property. If you ask the average American if slavery still exists in America, their answer is likely to be no. After watching this video, many will change their minds.

As the crack epidemic flooded inner cities across the country, in 1986 Reagan's "Anti-Drug Abuse Act" makes the penalty for crack possession a hundred times harsher than that of powder cocaine. The following year new legislation is passed allowing private corporations to own and operate prisons. Twenty years later over a million non-violent drug offenders are imprisoned while corporate stocks are traded based on how many prisoners are in the cages.

A report released in 2008 by the International Center for Prison Studies at King's College London states that the United States has the highest incarceration rate and most people behind bars per capita in the world. Over 50% of these people are imprisoned for drug crimes.
At the same time, prescription drug companies account for over 50% of Fortune 500 profits. All illegal drugs combined kill approx 11K per year while cigarettes, alcohol and pharmaceutical kill almost a million. What's wrong with this picture?

Video by Kevin Booth and Ryan Kaye

http://sacredcow.com

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• war
• on
• drugs
• slavery
• racism
• politics
• black
• prison
• jail
• system
• documentary
• news
• iran
• contra
• cocaine
• crack
• hood

[deadreck024]

im a white man who was sent to jail for 13 months for purchasing 20 dollars worth of crack from a cop.the crack was produced by the sheriff of Broward county Fla.

I lost my whole future to that drug i cant vote i cant get a job worth having.I cant even move to certain neighborhoods because of this its been 18 years im still paying for it I know illegal immigrants who have more rights than me.

[jamesr197307]

It's because we still have slavery for black people, it's just in a different form today. Rich white people don't want black people making money and having power from that money via drugs. It has little to do with drugs and very little to do with safety. It has to do with keeping the black population as slaves and keeping them from having power while giving more money to the rich white men. America is really the same as in the 1700 and 1800's, don't kid yourself.

[darris321]

point of order: you're not forced into the labor. you can choose not to work while you're in prison.

[keenwittedinc]

subscribe 2us,

[rachelrae666]

@deadreck024 im in the same boat, and its not right, they take it all from us leaving us with no choice but to make "wrong choices" all over again, they trap us in a circle of failure but blame it on us.

[JoeReznik]

@deadreck024 Buddy, I tell you one thing. You can get things fixed. If you cant make it there, make it overthere. Come here to europe, look for a job- you will come along. We need good people here. You have already paid for your `crime`. You are a serious citicen again now. People have to respect this. Give yourself time, work a time here in europe, you can fix your life. Like I told you- come over here.

[Casper48022]

I think its a mockery and insult to democracy, when every political drug video (that has ratings and comments enabled) has an overwhelming like to dislike ratio in favor of ending this madness.. And yet nothing still is ever done about it.

[waffiki]

where is God.

[standforchange08]

White men love to see black men ontop of black men in prison, simply because of their pathetic minds. They love it. The beast love to see this. Nasty as peckawoods.

[JMU24AZP]

@inkey2 (cont., sorry man I can't get it all in in 500 characters) We've allowed an industry to develop that destroys the lives of a lot of non-violent offenders. Individuals who commit serious violent crimes are given shorter sentences than non-violent drug offenders, who get mandatory minimums. If you think that drugs like marijuana should be illegal, and marijuana users should get longer jail sentences than child molesters that is a problem (I don't think you feel this way, please look again)