Dirty Dishes	Dirty Dishes Archive

Dawn has shared laments with readers about the dumbing down of so many gay groups. Thus, it was with pleasure that Dawn read an April press release from Men of All Colors Together/New York. Their lead item? Coverage of "Lobby Day" in Albany; for once, the lobbying wasn't for homo marriage or demands to be able to join the army and go kill people in foreign lands. No, MACT/New York was agitating for repeal of the "Rockefeller Drug Laws," horrid legislation that treats possession of drugs more harshly than violent assault.

View our poll archive

It's understandable that a gay group committed to fighting racism would tackle inequitable drug laws since our nation's drug policy is an extension of chattel slavery, KKK lynchings, and Jim Crow segregation-- all efforts to keep niggers in their place. How else to explain that African Americans comprise 12% of the nation's population, and 13% of its drug users, yet they account for one third of all drug-related arrests and nearly two thirds of all convictions? How else to explain that under federal law, to convict someone of possession with intent to distribute powder cocaine (a relatively expensive, thus "white" drug) quantities of 500 grams are required, but for crack (cheap, "black" cocaine), only five grams are needed for the same conviction and sentence?

Our national drug policy is the single biggest reason that on any given day in the USA, more than one out of every three black males between the ages of 18-29 is either incarcerated, on probation, on parole, or under warrant for arrest. (In most US cities, that figure is much higher; in Washington, DC, for instance, more than 50 percent of young black males are under the "supervision" of the criminal justice system.)

And drug policy has ramifications that extend beyond simple incarceration or probation. More than 1.4 million black men are currently ineligible to vote because of drug convictions. Those who are under criminal justice "supervision" do not have to be included in unemployment statistics. And generations of children are learning that serving time is a "normal" part of growing up in America. In addition, when economic opportunities are scarce, even those with minor criminal records become virtually unemployable, forcing them back into the lucrative underground economy where there are always job opportunities.

But drug policy isn't a gay issue, Dawn can hear some protest. But for Dawn, gay liberation is about freedom, especially freedom from arbitrary, inequitable, and brutal persecution by those armed with the power of the state. The police who raided Stonewall weren't trying to insure observance of fire code safety; they were there to keep queers in their place. And today, New York Governor Pataki and all the other drug warriors are similarly fighting to keep whitey on top.

MACT/New York is one of the few gay groups that's kept its eyes on a worthwhile prize; to find out more about their work, call 212/330-7678, or email secretary@mactny.org, or visit www.mactny.org.