Black History Month 2025

1981 1982 1983

39 Jimmy Carter | 40 Ronald Reagan | 41 George H. W. Bush

Black Power Affirmative Action Mass Incarceration

July 1, 1982
'The Message' Released



Englewood, New Jersey - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released the rap song, The Message. It was made as a result of the 1980 New York Transit Strike.

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October 14, 1982
President Reagan Declared 'War on Drugs'



Washington, D. C. - President Ronald Reagan declared the 'War on Drugs' at the Justice Department. This was the second time the United States government made drugs a policy focus. The first time was by President Richard Nixon, in 1971.

Reagan made his 'drugs' speech years before the crack cocaine hysteria of the 1980s. It came before the mass incarceration law that Reagan signed, in 1984. By the time crack cocaine appeared, all the pieces were in place to wage a legal, civil war against Black Americans. Over the next 20 years, prison rates of young, Black American men exploded.

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