Old Allies, New Problems: Civil Rights Activists and New York’s Drug War

Nelson Rockefeller first declared a “war on narcotics” in 1966, he pointed to the state’s growing drug trade, prevalence of addiction, and rising crime rate as the driving factors. The governor explained that the most troubling repercussion of increased drug use was the resulting crime, which he largely attributed to addicts who fueled their habits by “terrorizing” New Yorkers at large. Thus began the punitive turn in New York’s drug policy that resulted in the 1973 passage of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

To aid his efforts, Rockefeller sought council and support from black civil rights leaders including Wyatt Tee Walker, Sandy Ray, and Jackie Robinson, to whom he had well-established ties because of his advocacy for the advancement of civil rights. While the issue of urban drug use may have been a new concern for the majority of the state, it was a troubling problem that had concerned black communities in New York since the 1950s. As a result, there were numerous black leaders who sought new solutions in the wake of the civil rights movement. They drew motivation from their conviction that the descendants of slaves had not fought for freedom and equality to become slaves to addiction.

This paper examines the role of civil rights leaders who supported Rockefeller’s efforts and sought to make his drug policies beneficial for their communities. It explores the transition from community-centric approaches that addressed a range of urban problems, including drug addiction, to a narrow focus on the drug trade that established a pipeline to state penitentiaries. It also emphasizes how alliances between civil rights activists and liberal politicians faltered and produced detrimental outcomes when attention shifted from the legislative aims of the civil rights movement to more intractable aspects of social and economic inequality after 1965.