When Crack Was King, A Conversation with Donovan X. Ramsey

Join us for an evening with Donovan X. Ramsey, journalist and author of When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era. Ramsey’s writing career focuses on amplifying the unheard stories of Black America. In When Crack Was King, Ramsey uses people-first journalism to tell the story of the crack epidemic of the 1980s and ‘90s through the experiences of four people who lived through it. He weaves together research and the voices of survivors to argue for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. 

Ramsey will be interviewed by Vaughn Rasberry, an Associate Professor of English and Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Stanford.

Please note that this event is in-person only, and RSVPs are required to attend. RSVP HERE.

Copies of When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era will be available for purchase and book signing at this event. 

Speaker Bios:

Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist, author, and an indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America. 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. He was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He holds degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Morehouse College.

Vaughn Rasberry is Associate Professor of English at Stanford who studies African American and African Diaspora literature, twentieth-century American fiction, postcolonial theory, and philosophical theories of modernity. Rasberry also serves as Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education and is the author of Race and the Totalitarian Century: Geopolitics and the Black Literary Imagination.

This event will be recorded and a photographer present to document the event. The video recording will be available within two weeks of the event. By RSVPing, you consent for your image to be used for Center-related promotions and platforms. If you have any questions, please contact ethics-center [at] stanford.edu (ethics-center[at]stanford[dot]edu).

If you require disability-related accommodation, please contact Sheila Sanchez at disability.access [at] stanford.edu (disability[dot]access[at]stanford[dot]edu)  as soon as possible or at least 7 business days in advance of the event.