Episode 192 with Donovan X. Ramsey, Author of When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era and Master Craftsman of a Historical Book that Shines Through Personal Stories

Notes and Links to Donovan X. Ramsey’s Work

   For Episode 192, Pete welcomes Donovan X. Ramsey, and the two discuss, among other things, his early relationship with language, formative and transformative writers like bell hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Phillip Roth, Colson Whitehead, and the inimitable Toni Morrison, connotations and legal policies that are products of the mythmaking and propagandizing of the “crack era,” the emblematic stories of the people followed in Donovan’s book, historical precedent for the over policing and oppression of Black people in the US, and optimism and pessimism to be seen in the stories of the crack era and of today.

 

   Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist, author, and an indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America.

His reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among other outlets. He has been a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, NewsOne, and theGrio. He has served as an editor at The Marshall Project and Complex.

Ramsey’s writing career has been focused entirely on amplifying the remarkable unheard stories of Black America. He believes in people-first narratives that center individuals and communities—not just issues. His memorable magazine work includes profiles of Deion Sanders, Killer Mike, and Bubba Wallace for GQ; and Bryan Stevenson and Ibram Kendi for WSJ Magazine.

Ramsey is the author of When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, a work of narrative nonfiction exploring how Black America survived the crack epidemic for One World, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House, the world's largest trade book publisher.

He was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He holds degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he concentrated in magazine journalism, and Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta. Today, he calls Los Angeles home.

 

 

Buy When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era

 

Donovan's Website

 

Review in The New York Times of When Crack Was King

 

Interview with The Los Angeles Times about When Crack Was King

At about 2:55, Donovan gives background on his early reading and writing life

 

At about 6:00, Donovan and Pete fanboy over Toni Morrison, who Donovan calls “the greatest to ever do it”

 

At about 7:30, Donovan discusses his love of Phillip Roth’s work, as well as that of Zora Neale Hurston and Colston Whitehead’s work

 

At about 9:50, Donovan talks about ideas of representation and how he was taken care of intellectually

 

At about 12:30, Donovan references current writers who thrill and challenge him, including Colson Whitehead, Mat Johnson, and Stephen King, whose cover of It inspired the cover for When Crack Was King

 

At about 14:30, Donovan responds to Pete’s questions about long form versus “longer form” and how he dove into the research

 

At about 17:50, Donovan cites jazz as a must when he’s writing

 

At about 19:00, Pete points to “crack era laws” Donovan references that seemed to be seeds for the book, and Donovan responds by mentioning Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration as an important “seed” for the book

 

At about 23:00, Donovan talks about the connotations that come with the word “crackhead,” as well as government and official language that served to dehumanize drug users and Black Americans 

 

At about 26:20, Pete compliments and notes about a “good historical revision” in use of language that is not dehumanizing 

 

At about 27:10, Pete marks the book’s eight-part structure 

 

At about 28:30, Pete points out the book’s interesting and necessary historical background that is provided

 

At about 29:05, Donovan responds to Pete’s asking about Nixon’s “War on Drugs” and the preceding and succeeding years in drug and policing policies; he specifically speaks about Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” 

 

***At about 33:10, The two discuss connections between events charted in the book with events of today and lament how, since history is cyclical,” there is little

 

At about 34:20, Pete and Donovan discuss the “inconsistent[cy}” in the US government’s and society’s view of drugs and punishment 

 

At about 38:15, Donovan explains the Richard Pryor story and Lenny Bias’ tragic death in the context of mythmaking and propaganda around crack cocaine

 

At about 40:10, The newspaper article “Jimmy’s World” and the almost unbelievable circus around it is discussed 

 

At about 44:20, “Gabo” weighs in on “Jimmy’s World!”

 

At about 44:45, Donovan charts the historical consequences of racist tropes regarding drugs and their supposed transference of superhuman qualities for Blacks and other people of color

 

At about 47:25, The two discuss Kurt Schmoke’s turn towards the decriminalization of drugs 

 

At about 52:00, Donovan reflects on the economic ties between so much of society and the “War

 

At about 53:15, The two discuss the Democrats’ emphasis on “tough on crime” in the crack era and beyond, as well as the need for making things right now, with the adjustment of laws and redress of past wrongs

 

At about 57:20, Pete discusses the importance of Dre Dre and other hip musicians as part of bringing the crack era to an end, as well as communities standing up to bring use down

 

At about 58:40, Donovan talks about pessimism that came after finishing the book in 2020, including the case of young Black men being barred from selling water in Atlanta 

 

At about 1:02:25, Pete highlights the power of the individual stories in the book, including a beautiful andeote involving Shawn-Coach McCray

 

At about 1:04:00, Donovan responds to Pete’s questions about any optimism he feels in examining the individual stories of Shawn, Lennie, Elgin, Kurt, and others

 

At about 1:06:50, Donovan talks about exciting upcoming projects, including podcast potential 

 

At about 1:08:00, Donovan shouts out Reparations Club in Los Angeles, For Keeps Bookstore in Atlanta, and McNally Jackson Books in New York as good places to buy his book, as well as his social media/contact info

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Check out the next episode with Ethan Chatagnier, which airs today, July 18. 

  Ethan is the author of Singer Distance, a novel lauded by NPR Books and The Millions. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of literary journals including the Kenyon Review Online and he has won a Pushcart Prize and been listed as notable in the Best American Short Stories. 

   Again, the episode with Ethan will air today, July 18.