Framing the article with 'when black lives didnt matter' is the kind of lazy, one-dimensional sensationalism, and fact aversive bias I would expect from conservatives.
The rate of violence and homicide in urban cities was staggering during the late 80s-90s. We agonize greatly over "Chiraq" and their few hundred homicide average per year, but in the 90s the city averaged double that. NYC averages a couple hundred homicides per year currently, but in the 90s they were averaging over two thousand!
I can tell you as a very young child living in NYC, I vividly remember strategies like sleeping on the floor every night in order to stay of the line of fire from stray bullets that often would wizz around like fireflies at night. Things became so unlivable we eventually had to break to Cali and live with family until we got on our feet.
So in this environment what do you say to the families of those being terrorized by a crack epidemic, and forced to live everyday in conditions that were deteriorating to that resembling third world? What about those lives?
Now of course longitudinally the drug war policies that may have been defendable in the immediate are now indefensible civil rights issues now. Clinton has addressed this, and spoken out against the drug laws her husband helped sign into legislation. The country is definitely moving away from 'lock em up n throw away the key' policy, and correctly understands the justice and liberty implications at stake.
But what cant be ignored is the fact that black people experienced their best economic growth under the Clinton era. By a substantial degree. Much of this was lost in the financial collapse of '08.
A more complete rendering of the Clinton admin with respect to black folks would be nice.
