Police Brutality Quotes
Two protesters were killed. The demonstration so affected the government that they pressured the Belfast local authorities to announce substantial increases in relief. The economy and the employment picture got no better that year.
There were anti-Vietnam war protests going on throughout the country that year. In many of them, especially at universities, protesters took over buildings, and shut down operations. Most Republicans and many Democrats wanted the protests to end, mostly because they feared the spread of the anti-Vietnam war sentiment would catch on and become a position held by most Americans (which it did just as they feared,) They were restrained in what they could do legally by the 1st Amendment. However, there was much breaking of minor laws in many of the demonstrations and that was the focus of the effort to suppress the demonstrations. But in the tradition of civil disobedience, it was the lawbreaking that tended to get the press attention and coverage, so the leaders of the anti-war movement advocated even more lawbreaking, hence Dirksen’s statement to the convention.
Two decades earlier leading Black politicians, observing the differential deleterious effects of drug use on Blacks called for a massive Federal effort to diminish substance abuse. The War on Drugs responded and reduced the drug use in America somewhat. However, the unintended consequences—especially for Blacks—caused many Black politicians to call for an end or serious curtailing to the War on Drugs. The differential effect on Black males was dramatic. White drug dealing tended to occur in private offices and homes where black dealing takes place to a greater extent on the streets where the lower level dealers are much more likely to be caught. The differential penal;ties for possession or selling of powdered cocaine (preferred by whites) and crack cocaine (preferred by Blacks) caused many more Blacks to be jailed. With less access to the better attornies, the Bplacks tend to get longer sentences, even for the same crime. In addition, the drug of choice for most whites is alcohol which was made legal while the drugs of choice for Blacks are illegal. In many Black urban neighborhoods like Newark, the majority of young Black men arwere in jail for ddrug law violations. See {624056} for a concurring opinion.
