When Crack Was King

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Elgin

Elgin Swift is one face of the American Dream. The forty-­five-­year-­old car salesman earns a six-figure salary and manages a staff of twenty. Just as important: Elgin is self-­made, having been promoted from sales representative more than fifteen years ago. Before that, he worked his way up from busboy to manager at a small Italian restaurant.

He also has a number of successful business ventures. Elgin owns rental properties, publishes a popular podcast, and has significant investments in cryptocurrency. His success in business has provided him with all the creature comforts one could want: a luxury condo, designer clothes, and a lifestyle that includes plenty of travel, fine dining, and leisure activities.

Elgin is practically indistinguishable from the other middle-­aged white men commuting into New York City every day from New Jersey. He s of average height and weight. He keeps the hair on his head and his beard closely cropped. His prominent nose and large dark eyes render him ethnically ambiguous. He could be Italian, Jewish, Latino. But upon close inspection, there are some things that set him apart. His narrow face is always framed by a neat line-­up that fades to skin above the ears. He loves the boom bap of eighties hip hop, graffiti, and classic sneakers. He s also obsessed with making money, the art of the hustle.

His style and interests were formed during his childhood in crack-­era Yonkers, New York. He s now years and miles away from that reality, but Elgin s past continues to color his life as much as his New York accent colors his speech.

I met Elgin Swift in my search to find people whose relatives struggled with crack addiction. I encountered hundreds after putting out an open call via social media platforms, and people shared with me things they d never told anyone about loved ones and relationships lost to crack.

I interviewed Swift after one of his friends insisted we connect. To be honest, I was reluctant

Donovan X. Ramsey

A compassionate and urgent story that centers the victims of this superdrug, When Crack Was King is an illuminating look at the devastating, racialized impacts of the U.S. criminal justice system and a warning for us to do better as more drug epidemics rear their ugly heads. Time

[A] panoramic social history . . . Ramsey aims to give the story of the crack epidemic a human face while telling it from start to finish, a herculean task. By and large he succeeds. The New York Times

[Ramsey] makes a convincing case that government policies criminalized what was essentially a public health crisis, and he busts some of the most pernicious media-generated myths of the epidemic including the much ballyhooed threat of the crack baby. NPR

We haven t reckoned with the crack era, or pinned it as the historical marker it was. . . . Ramsey gives the full view, from teenagers who grew up in the shadow of crack to city leaders who got overwhelmed by it. The sweep is long overdue. Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic

[Ramsey] looks at the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s from several perspectives, from a Newark drug kingpin to a former Baltimore mayor to a longtime addict, and asks the reader to reconsider the details of a life-shattering scourge. Boston Globe

[When Crack Was King] manages to convey the scope of history while also remaining grounded in the specific and personal. And it feels particularly relevant as America stares down another drug epidemic with no clear end in sight. Los Angeles Times

Ramsey takes a wide and necessary view of the choices sinister and well-meaning alike that led to the epidemic. To complement his sweeping historical and political analysis, Ramsey also spends time with individual people who weathered the worst of the era and lived to share its lessons. The Millions

Illuminating . . . For all its traumas, When Crack Was King . . . is also a