--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any notion that drug use among blacks is…" description: "\"“Any notion that drug use among blacks is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data; white youth have about three times the number of drug-related..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png" --- # Any notion that drug use among blacks is more severe or… ![“Any notion that drug use among blacks is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data; white youth have about three times the number of drug-related emergency room visits as their African American counterparts.” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png) > ““Any notion that drug use among blacks is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data; white youth have about three times the number of drug-related emergency room visits as their African American counterparts.”” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Data shows white youth have far more drug‑related ER visits than Black youth, contradicting stereotypes of higher drug severity among Blacks. **In simple terms:** White youth have more drug emergencies than Black youth. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions with evidence. Themes racism public health stereotypes Mood concerned analytical Type informative critical When to use this quote - policy making - health education - media reporting Key Concepts systemic bias data analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do we address misconceptions about drug use across races? - What policies could reduce drug‑related emergencies overall? A Different Perspective Data may be limited to certain regions or time periods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [Drug use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-use/) ## Related quotes > [Plenty of drug dealing does happen in the 'hood, but it happens everywhere else in America as well. In fact, some studies suggest that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/plenty-of-drug-dealing-does-happen-in-the-hood-but-it-happens/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The white youth of today have begun to react to the fact that the American Way of Life is a fossil of history. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-white-youth-of-today-have-begun-to-react-to-the-fact-that-the/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [By some estimates, 80% of rap music is bought by white youth. And this makes for another irony. The blooming of white alienation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/by-some-estimates-80-of-rap-music-is-bought-by-white-youth-and-this/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Increasingly, poor minority and white youth are being funneled directly from schools into prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/increasingly-poor-minority-and-white-youth-are-being-funneled/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [“At the time the drug war was declared, illegal drug use and abuse was not a pressing concern in most communities. The announcement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/at-the-time-the-drug-war-was-declared-illegal-drug-use-and-abuse-was/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“In order to make this point, we need to talk about race openly and honestly. We must stop debating crime policy as though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-order-to-make-this-point-we-need-to-talk-about-race-openly-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [These are folks that keep people out of hospitals, out of emergency rooms, out of nursing homes. And not only that, they help people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/these-are-folks-that-keep-people-out-of-hospitals-out-of-emergency/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [America is running a fever, but there are no emergency rooms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/america-is-running-a-fever-but-there-are-no-emergency-rooms/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) > [“gravity didn’t even exist. As if the thought of slipping off that narrow seat and plummeting to the ground never entered any of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-ortolon/gravity-didn-t-even-exist-as-if-the-thought-of-slipping-off-that/) [Julie Ortolon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-ortolon/) > [If you're not paying for it through the health plan, you pay for it in the emergency room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lehman/if-you-re-not-paying-for-it-through-the-health-plan-you-pay-for-it-in/) [David Lehman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lehman/) > [I drove myself to the Emergency Room. That's a nice relaxing drive. "Noooo, after you. Merge-everybody merge."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/i-drove-myself-to-the-emergency-room-that-s-a-nice-relaxing-drive/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [“08/14/1025h. Dessert Competitions. 08/14/1315h. Illinois State Fair Infirmary; then motel; then Springfield Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room for distention and possible rupture of transverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/08-14-1025h-dessert-competitions-08-14-1315h-illinois-state-fair/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If I were a poet, that’s what I’d write about. People who worked in the middle of the night. Men who loaded trains, emergency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/if-i-were-a-poet-that-s-what-i-d-write-about-people-who-worked-in-the/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Every new president inherits headaches, but President Obama has inherited an entire emergency room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/every-new-president-inherits-headaches-but-president-obama-has/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [I'd love to be a dead body in the emergency room and have George Clooney go, 'This one's gone!' while he puts a sheet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/i-d-love-to-be-a-dead-body-in-the-emergency-room-and-have-george/) [Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More African american quotes > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“This popularity extended to Trump himself, who, according to private demographic research conducted at the time, was even more popular with African American and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/this-popularity-extended-to-trump-himself-who-according-to-private/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/some-republicans-gave-up-on-winning-the-african-american-vote-looking/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-unfortunate-that-a-lot-of-people-think-african-american-female/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. So sometimes, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-may-be-changing-but-still-it-s-the-one-place-that-total-control-of/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [I think it's easier for African American and white comics to be praised than it is Latinos because they think our culture or our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lopez/i-think-it-s-easier-for-african-american-and-white-comics-to-be/) [George Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lopez/) > [“Alabama in 1927 alone, 27,701 men were arrested on misdemeanor charges and offered for sale by county sheriffs. In Blackmon’s estimation, “roughly half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/alabama-in-1927-alone-27-701-men-were-arrested-on-misdemeanor-charges/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [I'm just trying to touch the world and touch the people and just get good material. And show them that we can get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-m-just-trying-to-touch-the-world-and-touch-the-people-and-just-get/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) [Browse all 1,848 African american quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Any notion that drug use among blacks is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data; white youth have about three times the number of drug-related emergency room visits as their African American counterparts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is-more-severe-or-dangerous-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "African american" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is-more-severe-or-dangerous-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/michelle-alexander-750_african-american_any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is_3018724.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any notion that drug use among blacks is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data; white youth have…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michelle Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Any notion that drug use among...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is-more-severe-or-dangerous-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/any-notion-that-drug-use-among-blacks-is-more-severe-or-dangerous-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```