How Did Rockefeller Drug Laws Affect Minorities

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In 1973, Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York at the time, implemented the harshest drug legislation in the United States during its period. Those in violation of his laws were sentenced to extreme prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively acute amounts of drugs, many life imprisonment for some drug offenses. However, as time went on, people began to recognize its disadvantageous impact on minority groups, such as mass incarceration of the Black and Hispanic population. It was this apparent racial disparity in enforcement that pushed many advocacy groups, lawmakers, and public opinion to fight for reforms and revisions to the Rockefeller Drug Laws, leading up to its repeal in 2009. Historians have continued to debate the reasoning as to why this legislation was even passed in the first place. Ultimately, the passage of the Rockefeller Drug Laws was a summation of political expediency, increasing …show more content…
III Targeted Injustice: The Effects of Mass Incarceration on Minorities The implementation of Rockefeller’s drug laws had a detrimental impact on minority groups, disproportionately targeting Black and Latino communities. Although drug use was common in all racial groups, a baffling 94% of those imprisoned for drug offenses in New York state prisons were African American and Latino. This vast disparity showcases the racial bias built into the enforcement of these laws. Lisa R. Nakai, a researcher at the University of Albany, explains that police tend to target “inner-city neighborhoods as opposed to affluent communities” because drug sales “are more visible in low-income neighborhoods” and “poor individuals are less politically threatening.” Consequently, Rockefeller’s drug legislation became a device for systemic discrimination, strengthening the marginalization of minority
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