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The overdose death of Len Bias, a star college basketball player, in 1986 received national media coverage and drew attention to the growing crack pandemic in cities like Chicago. Harold Washington, the first African-American elected as mayor of Chicago, saw this as an opportunity to fight the growing drug abuse in his city. As a result of the increasing drug and gang related crimes in the United States, President Reagan declared a War on Drugs in the 1980s and Mayor Washington vocally supported the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act.
Losier, T. (2017). The true ‘defense’ needs of our cities: Chicago mayor Harold Washington and the Reagan era war against drugs. Wayne Law Review, 63(21), 21-54. Retrieved from: http://waynelawreview.org/the-true-defense-needs-of-our-cities-chicago-m...