African-American Community
Before the slave trade when Africans lived on the motherland, the use of drugs were not abused, yet only used during special celebrations. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, West, East, and Central Africans brewed beer and wine, and southern Africans engaged in some use of cannabis (marijuana; Ambler, 2003). During that time period, drugs other than alcohol were not used or seen a lot, and alcohol was seen as a very important factor of festivals. When the slave trade began, alcohol was seen as a form of currency and accounted for purchasing five to ten percent of all West African slaves.
Even though African Americans endured unbearable conditions during the slave trade, once working at a plantation their drinking habits did not increase. They still only drunk on special occasions; some slave masters would use alcohol as a reward during harvest times to encourage the slaves to work harder. After the Civil War, a lot of African Americans moved North to more urban areas, alcohol consumption and drug abuse began to grow. Only drinking on special occasions, like their ancestors, became increasingly rough as they had to deal with poverty and racism on a daily basis.
Drug Use and Abuse
Drug use became more present in the African American community around the 1930s, because the growth of clubs and bars in urban communities. Heroin use increased during the late 1940s and 1950s, and marijuana was being used more throughout the community. The use of these drugs was accepted because of the daily levels of stress an African American went through under an oppressed country. Even though there were places that could help with alcohol addiction, they were not meant for African Americans, but designed for middle-class Americans and other programs were not offered in the community.
Through the 1970s and 1990s, powdered cocaine replaced heroin and became the wrecking ball in the African American community. Powdered cocaine led to the rise of crack cocaine, which increased diseases, family problems and crime. Not only did cocaine cause problems socially, it began to increase the number of African American men going to jail for drug distribution. “The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 created a disparity in sentencing those arrested for crack cocaine as opposed to those arrested for powdered cocaine” (Belgrave).
There are a lot of different factors that tie into drug abuse and the usage of it in the African American community. Individual factors that tie into drug abuse are seeking sensation and rebelling against authority. Genetics can also play a role in using drugs, twins are more likely to abuse drugs and become addicted. Drugs and alcohol aren’t the only negative effects on the African American community, smoking cigarettes are worse for African Americans than they are for Whites or Hispanics.
In African American culture, family is very important. African American youth that use drugs usually come from families with conflicts, poor communication and negative interactions. Families with positive interactions, good communication, and are supportive see lower drug use within their youth. When the cocaine epidemic shook the African American community, the children had a significant increase in drug use and peer influence because most parents were either in jail or addicted to drugs. Even though family structure is very important in raising a child, research has shown that it is the quality or type of family that makes the difference in children using substances (Belgrave et al.).
The home a child grows up in not only affects their decision on using drugs, peer pressure has a say so in it too. If a child is around other children who are using drugs, that child is most likely to use those drugs also. Youth try their first drugs with peers, and peers provide drugs, model drug-using behaviors, and influence attitudes toward drugs (Belgrave).
