When Crack Was King offers an account of the crack cocaine era and a community's resilience, told through a cast of characters whose lives illuminate the rise and fall of the epidemic. Journalist Donovan X. Ramsey provides an exacting analysis beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs.

The book follows four individuals: Elgin Swift, who represents American industry and ambition and is the son of a crack-addicted father; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist and a founding member of Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers.

With riveting research and the voices of survivors, this book is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve.