"Crack the Disparity" National Month of Advocacy Kicks Off By Nkechi Taifa, Esq. “President Obama and Vice President Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.” –www.whitehouse.gov What better kickoff can a national month of advocacy have than with the nation’s President and Vice President heavily weighing in on the importance of the issue? The disparate sentencing structure between crack and powder cocaine will be the subject of focused attention during the month of April, spearheaded by the Justice Roundtable’s Crack the Disparity campaign. This is the second year an entire month has been dedicated to sustained national scrutiny, awareness, and advocacy on the issue of crack cocaine sentencing reform. Last year’s Crack the Disparity lobby month activities were enhanced with hearings in both the House and Senate. This year’s activities include a Letter-A-Day campaign to the Hill, a National Call-In Day for organizations to mobilize their members and supporters to call their congressional delegation, and in-district meetings. The month will culminate with a National Lobby Day on April 28th, where advocates from across the country will descend on Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill to target representatives and senators about the need for reform. The disparity between crack and powder cocaine penalties has long been viewed as one of the most egregious examples of racial discrimination in the U.S. criminal justice system. Last year, 82.7% of those convicted of crack cocaine offenses in federal courts were African American, despite the fact that only 25% of crack cocaine users were black. In addition to the racial disparity, the emphasis on the lowest level offenders is equally flagrant. The overwhelming number of federal crack cocaine prosecutions involve mere sugar packet and candy bar size quantities of the drug, resulting in unreasonably harsh five- and ten-year mandatory sentences. Indeed, it takes selling 100 times greaer quanity of powder cocaine to yield the same five- and ten-year sentences meted out for crack cocaine. Activities of the Crack the Disparity campaign have been complemented with unprecedented movement in each branch of the U.S. government over the past year. For example, thousands of individuals inequitably imprisoned have been retroactively released pursuant to a U.S. Sentencing Commission guideline adjustment; the U.S. Supreme Court has granted judges discretion in crack cocaine guideline sentencing; and President Bush commuted the terms of two persons convicted of crack cocaine offenses. A change in the mandatory minimum statute, however, can only happen legislatively, and it is long overdue that Congress act. For the past 14 years, the expert U.S. Sentencing Commission, in four separate reports, has called for the elimination of the 100 to 1 quantity ratio. The grounds for legislative reform have finally been fertilized, and bills for crack cocaine reform have been introduced in Congress. The winds of change are blowing and a perfect storm is forming. Two bills have been introduced and more are expected. The coalition endorses legislation reform that eliminates the crack and powder disparity by conforming crack quantities to current powder cocaine quantities and are constant with the approach supported by President Obama and Vice President Biden. Finally, the Crack the Disparity campaign has entered cyberspace and we need your help to make our message go viral. Visit our sites on both Facebook and Twitter, and help spread the word that now is the time to end this “crack” in the U.S. justice system. The window of opportunity is upon us. Join the Crack the Disparity Month of Advocacy. Call in to cable and radio talk shows. Write letters to the editor. Visit with your senators and representatives in district meetings. Come to Washington on April 28th for Crack the Disparity Lobby Day. Let your voice be heard. The studies are completed. The research is compelling. The analysis is sound. Let us not let another year go by without rectifying this manifest injustice. Nkechi Taifa is Senior Policy Analyst for the Open Society Policy Center, a non-partisan organization that engages in policy advocacy on criminal justice reform, domestic civil liberties, civil rights, human rights, women's rights, multilateralism, and economic development issues.