"ostensibly color blind" - the drug wars are not

Two New Reports Find Racial Gap in Drug Arrests, By ERIK ECKHOLM, NEW YORK TIMES (Published: May 6, 2008):  "Two new reports, issued Monday by the Sentencing Project in Washington and by Human Rights Watch in New York, both say the racial disparities reflect, in large part, an overwhelming focus of law enforcement on drug use in low-income urban areas, with arrests and incarceration the main weapon..."

The Sentencing Project:  Research and Advocacy for Reform. Disparity By Geography. The War on Drugs in America’s Cities By Ryan S. King (May 2008):  "The Sentencing Project's newest study, Disparity by Geography: The War on Drugs in America's Cities, is the first city-level analysis of drug arrests, examining data from 43 of the nation's largest cities between 1980-2003. The study found that since 1980, the rate of drug arrests in American cities for African Americans increased by 225%, compared to 70% among whites. Black arrest rates grew by more than 500% in 11 cities during this period and in nearly half of the cities, the odds of arrest for a drug offense among African Americans relative to whites more than doubled."

Human Rights Watch - Targeting blacks: Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United States : "Ostensibly color-blind, the US “war on drugs” disproportionately targets urban minority neighborhoods, Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project said in two reports. Although whites commit more drug offenses, African Americans are arrested and imprisoned on drug charges at much higher rates, the reports find."