The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. October 4, 2021 House Passes Bill to End Racist Sentencing Disparity for Cocaine Offenses ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The House passed a bill last week that would end sentencing disparities between offenses linked to crack cocaine and powder cocaine. The policy, dating back to the war on drugs in the 1980s, has disproportionately locked up Black Americans at a rate of 18 to 1 compared to whites. Advocates say the accompanying Senate bill, which has at least three Republican co-sponsors, has a chance of getting the 60 votes it needs to pass there. .