Beginning in the 1980s and lasting through the 1990s, the War on Drugs had devastating effects on Black communities throughout the United States. So many of these communities had poor economic conditions because of the legacy of racism. With few economic opportunities, many people got involved in the drug trade for a short time and at a low level. They were not drug suppliers, just struggling individuals trying to make ends meet.

During this time, the most popular drug in Black communities was crack cocaine, while the more expensive powder cocaine was the choice of white Americans. When laws were written to bear down on the drug trade, crack cocaine was punished much more severely, at a rate of 100:1 compared to powder, based on reasoning that was later debunked. This disparity sent Black Americans to prison for longer sentences than their white counterparts dealing an equivalent amount of powder cocaine.

The laws were intended to punish large-scale dealers who made millions of dollars off the misery and addiction of others. However, in reality, prosecutors used them to go after small-time players. When drug kingpins were caught, they snitched on others lower down the chain in exchange for lighter sentences. If they refused to give up additional names, which in many cases required them to lie, they were forced to go to trial, where the odds were stacked against them. The breadth of conspiracy laws allowed someone to be convicted on another’s testimony without any physical evidence of drugs or money. The resulting prison sentences were based on the amount of drugs traded, and that calculation was also based on testimony rather than hard evidence. These testimonies were particularly unreliable because they were provided in exchange for a lighter sentence. With harsh sentencing guidelines, the crack-powder disparity, and prosecutorial abuse, small-time players who were involved in the drug trade for a short stint were getting life sentences or decades in prison. It was a system of revenge, not justice.

Even when reforms were later passed, they were often not retroactive or inclusive enough to help most people sentenced at the height of the War on Drugs. While executive clemency allowed some people to achieve their freedom, it was a small percentage of those incarcerated who obtained that remedy. Despite Barnett’s successes on behalf of her clients, she identifies mass incarceration for drug crimes as the most pressing civil rights issue of our time, as the human cost of the War on Drugs was enormous and incredibly damaging the Black community.