Letter from the President & CEO: End Racial Disparities in Sentencing

To Whom it May Concern:

A bill to end major racial and ethnic disparities in drug sentencing is on the move in the Senate, and we need your help to pass it.

You may already know that there is an enormousdisparity between the penalty for possession of crack cocaine and powder cocaine. According to a federal law passed in 1986, a person must possess 500 grams of powder cocaine before they are subject to the same mandatory 5-year prison sentence as an individual convicted of possessing just 5 grams of crack cocaine, despite the fact that, pharmacologically, the two drugs are identical.

This 100 to 1 ratio has had a devastating impact on African American and Hispanic communities.

Authorities estimate that more than 66% of those who use crack cocaine are white. Yet in 2006, 82% of those convicted and sentenced under federal crack cocaine laws were African American. When you add in Hispanics, the percentage climbs to above 96%

To correct this, Senator Richard Durbin (IL) has introduced S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2009. S. 1789 may get a hearing in the US Senate as early as next Thursday. Click here to send a letter to your Senators today.

The US Sentencing Commission, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a wide range of civil rights organizations have voiced their opposition to the crack cocaine sentencing disparities and mandatory minimum sentences. President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Attorney General Holder have all expressed their strong support for eliminating this glaring--and racially dubious--injustice.

Please, send a letter to your Senators today. Tell them it's time to end the crack cocaine/powder cocaine sentencing disparity.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Todd Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP

Letter from the President & CEO: Remembering MLK

To Whom it May Concern:  

Dr. Martin Luther King was a moral giant and cherished hero of the world - a tireless champion of the poor and oppressed against the powerful. He understood the inescapable mutability of our fates and entreated the nation to embrace peace, justice and equality. He called on us to love humanity and one another and to fight for a just society.

This year our celebration of Dr. King's legacy has taken a solemn tone, as the unimaginable tragedy that has struck our brothers and sisters in Haiti weighs heavily on our hearts. It is, however, in these times of great suffering that we find comfort, leadership and inspiration from our heroes. As Dr. King said, "the time is always right to do what is right," and as Americans there can be no better way to celebrate Dr. King's life than to give what we can to assist the people of Haiti, who have lost their homes, businesses, family members, and livelihoods.

The contributions made by the country of Haiti and Haitian Americans have helped shape our country into what it is today. The time is now for all of American and the world to band together to help relieve the suffering of the Haitian community, rebuild the nation, and renew the spirit of all Haitians and Haitian Americans.