Editor’s Note: Second part of a three part series on the consequences of the Reagan presidency
Ronald Reagan’s presidency is often considered a high point to many in America. The reality of the situation is that people of color and the less fortunate, along with women and the LGBTQ+ community suffered great hardship at his expense.
To understand the effects of the Reagan administration on all demographics it is important to first understand who Reagan was himself. The Republican icon was actually a Democrat until the 1950’s, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, a union that represented actors at the time. Reagan himself was a notable actor until he entered politics, appearing in many movies as a soldier or a cowboy.
Reagan claimed the Democrats failed him. Around the same time as this claim, Reagan granted a waiver to Music Corporation of America, his own talent agency, allowing them to start making television shows. They needed a waiver because it is a conflict of interest when the managers of talent are also responsible for hiring talent.
After granting this, Reagan received a job through MCA paying $150,000 in the 1950s whichequates to nearly $2 million today. Reagan also became a chief spokesperson for General Electric. The MCA was forced to break up after a later FBI investigation. No harm came to Reagan, though.
“Government must not supersede the will of the people or the responsibilities of the people. The function of government is not to confer happiness, but to give men the opportunity to work out happiness for themselves.”
Ronald Reagan – 1968 The Creative Society: Some Comments on Problems Facing America
Central to Reagan’s political thought is the concept of personal responsibility, which is an individual’s fate and their circumstances in life that are entirely determined by their own choices. Aided by his cowboy cosplaying in Hollywood, Reagan himself symbolized pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and not complaining.
Personal responsibility implies the government, and more specifically, Reagan himself, has no responsibility for the effects his own decisions and policies have on people; the burden is a moral failing of the individual alone. This line of thinking was noticeable in nearly all social initiatives and rhetoric he disseminated. It’s still observable today in current political stances and hustle culture.
The following will be separated into Reagan’s effect on people of color, socioeconomic consequences and women along with LGBTQ+ issues.
“Last night, I tell you, to watch that thing on television, as I did, to see those, those monkeys from those African countries — damn them — they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!”
Ronald Reagan – 1971; in reference to African U.N. delegates
One of the most observable aspects of the Reagan administration is his impact on people of color worldwide. Globally, Reagan showed an infatuation with meddling in the affairs of other countries, from full scale invasions to coups, violating state sovereignty across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Stateside, many black Americans were caught in the jaws of the crack epidemic, unfair policing and stereotyping throughout the Reagan administration.
Reagan’s global disrespect and ignorance for the well being and sovereignty of people of color along with his inclinations to favor military actions are noticeable in decisions like funding the Mujahideen, invading Grenada and allowing the Iran-Contra affair.
“A lot of the challenges that began emerging in the 1980’s are not resolved by the Reagan administration,” expert on foreign policy and international relations, UWF professor Dr. Jacob Shively remarked. “They’re responding with military force and there don’t seem to be a lot of lessons learned.”
The Mujahideen were a coalition of Muslim groups in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union sent forces to Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up the government and aid against Muslim gorilla fighters. In turn, Muslims in the area called for jihad, or holy war, on the Soviets. The CIA began to fund, train, politically manipulate the area and spread propaganda during the Carter administration to the tune of almost $700,000, but from 1981-1985 there was a sharp increase in involvement. By the end of Reagan’s presidency, America spent $3 billion.
Some members of the Mujahideen would later go on to form the Taliban and al Qaeda, including Osama Bin Laden. Government officials began warning of the consequences of this funding as soon as Reagan’s second term. Many Mujahideen fighters were also anti-America, but the Soviets were the immediate threat at the time. The U.S. helped the Mujahideen learn how to fight a more developed enemy, the Soviets, priming the conditions for the brutal fight in the Middle East post 9/11.
In 1979, a socialist revolution succeeded in Grenada, following this, their chosen leader, Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, traveled to the United States in 1983. While on his trip, Bishop gave a speech at Hunter College in Brooklyn. This speech condemned U.S. foreign policy and promoted solidarity in class struggle. Bishop was a black man and a skilled orator in English. The emphatic support his oratory received concerned the Reagan administration, as he showed an ability to influence Americans, specifically black Americans and give hope for change.
Grenada was in turmoil following the murder of Bishop. There were around 600 American students in school on the island. Reagan, under the guise of securing the students and to the dismay of much of the world, authorized an invasion violating Grenadian sovereignty that included Army Rangers, a Marine battalion, the 82nd Airborne, Navy SEALS and aircraft carriers. Following the occupation, a U.S. friendly government was installed that ended their Socialist revolution. The students would not be reached for nearly two days after the invasion.
Grenadian General Hudson Austin “sought desperately to negotiate with Washington in the days between Mr. Bishop’s death and the American-led invasion.’’ Austin even reached out to the University the students were attending, ensuring no harm was coming to them, and offered to open up local businesses to make their time there more comfortable. Austin gave the school chancellor his personal phone number and personally guaranteed the safety and free passage of any American on the island. University staff themselves never believed the students were in any danger.
The Iran-Contra affair saw military equipment, including missiles, sold to Iran in an effort to secure American prisoners. The funds from this were then funneled to the Contras, a right wing paramilitary in Nicaragua, who were fighting the Cuban backed, leftist, Sandinista government. According to United Press International, 118 of the 139 rights abuses observed in 1985 Nicaragua were committed by Contras, including rape, the murder of civilians, mistreating prisoners, torture and forced recruitment. Reagan even went so far as dub the Contras the “moral equal of our Founding Fathers.”
Reagan himself declared he would not negotiate with terrorists throughout his time in office and campaigning. Iran was under an embargo at the time as well. Congress had also passed the Boland Amendment directed at stopping aid to the Contras,as they knew the group funded themselves through cocaine trafficking and abused the rights of many.
“With the Iran-Contra situation…or supporting certain rebel groups…that might engage in systematic human rights abuses or criminal behavior,” said Shively. “It’s all ultimately, in their minds, for the greater good, they’re not thinking about social consequences that may emerge… they’re more willing to turn a blind eye if they’re working with a group fighting communists.”
Throughout the 1980’s the Contras were infesting America with tons of cocaine to fund their war, which the CIA and American government knew of, but did nothing to prevent, even shielding Ricky Ross’ bosses from prosecution, and later utilizing them as DEA informants all in the name of anti-Communism. Ross was the largest dealer domestically, with his operation set up in cities from Atlanta to Los Angeles. At his peak, Ross received 454 kilograms per week. Ross brought in so much product that the price of cocaine dropped from $60,000 to $10,000 per kilo. Iran-Contra drove down the price of cocaine nationally, resulting in widespread use, and the proliferation of crack, smokable cocaine, throughout black communities as it was cheaper than powder.
“The big headline story is that Reagan ran up tension with the Soviet Union, which he was criticized for, but then the Soviets started falling apart,” Shively said “It’s easy to look back and say this was pretty successful…when you scratch under the surface there were alot of individual decisions that are a lot more controversial. About half of them have serious knock-on effects later. The war on drugs, that kinda thing, that’s one of those things that doesn’t go away, and keeps getting worse rather than better.”
The War on Drugs had been going for some time, but Reagan would revamp it during his administration. Jimmy Carter had largely left the issue alone, but in 1986 Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act into law, giving a mandatory five year prison sentence with no parole for possessing five grams of crack. The same sentence was established for possessing 500 grams of powdered cocaine, creating a 100:1 disparity.
Reagan, along with every politician, knew that crack was more popular among less wealthy Americans due to the price point, resulting in the imprisonment and disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of black men. The number of non-violent drug offenders incarcerated went from 50,000 in 1980, to 400,000 by 1997. According to Human Rights Watch, black Americans went from being twice as likely as whites to face a drug arrest in the 1970’s, to five times as likely in 1988.
And, of course, with crack enveloping major cities and minority communities, Nancy Reagan adopted her husband’s personal responsibility rhetoric. So what if the government allowed the drugs to come in, just say no. It’s your choice.
Gun control was another way Reagan targeted black Americans. The Black Panthers throughout the 1960’s would perform armed patrols of neighborhoods, known as “cop-watching.” Following this development and a demonstration at the California capitol, Reagan would sign into law the Mulford Act. This act made the open carry of weapons illegal and prohibited loaded firearms in the state capitol. A clear response to the Black Panthers.
“She used 80 names, 30 addresses, 15 telephone numbers to collect food stamps, Social Security, veterans’ benefits for four nonexistent deceased veteran husbands, as well as welfare. Her tax-free cash income alone has been running $150,000 a year.”
Ronald Reagan – 1976 campaign rally
Reagan is also the originator of the “Welfare Queen” stereotype. During his failed 1976 presidential campaign, Reagan embellished the story of Lisa Taylor, a black woman from Chicago, claiming that she committed so much welfare and benefits fraud she received $150,000 annually, tax free. Taylor’s sentencing resulted in her being found guilty of stealing a total of $9,000.
But at that point the damage was done. The stereotype stuck, and even today many conservatives are convinced the presence of baby farming, fraud committing, black women, popping out children for the sole reason of getting free money, is a tangible thing.
Socioeconomically, Reagan caused damage in a multitude of ways during his tenure. His personal responsibility laden, budget cutting, bootstrapping ideology resulted in a skyrocketing homeless population, assaults on welfare programs, the cutting of social security benefits, increasing college costs and the dawn of extreme income inequality.
Jimmy Carter instituted the Mental Health Systems Act in 1980, a landmark piece of legislation at the time providing funding for mental health centers. Following Vietnam, many veterans with mental issues had come back home and a shift in needs of the labor market saw certain skill sets become obsolete, unemployment was rampant.
Reagan in his first year in office passed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This act largely repealed Carter’s legislation and shifted the responsibility of caring for mentally ill patients to the states. This weakened decades of federal involvement, championed by John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, in fighting homelessness, housing the mentally ill, providing medication, counseling and a roof.
The community centers Reagan said would take over couldn’t, resulting in a population suffering schizophrenia at a rate between 50-60% released into the streets. Individuals suffering from schizophrenia or any other severe mental illness require care constantly, and find it difficult to take part in everyday life. Many of these people were unable to manage, resulting in an increase of mentally ill homeless Americans throughout the 80’s.
Similarly, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 also targeted welfare and social programs, the same programs that would have offered assistance to those he deinstitutionalized upon release.
Supplemental Security Income was cut by $30 and later $60 million, $907 million was taken from Civil Service and military retirees, $1.7 billion less (increasing annually) allocated for food stamps, veteran’s burial benefits were cut by $75.2 million and funding for the Department of Health and Human Services moved to block grants (the same failed way he intended to fund community mental health clinics). The list goes on.
Through Reagan’s governorship he began a new practice within higher education-tuition. Many are unaware, but there was actually no tuition at public universities up until the 1960’s. Reagan cut the University of California’s funding by 10% in 1966 and proposed tuition to make up for the lost funds. Many universities suffered the same fate afterwards and tuition prices gradually increased through the present day.
This was part of a grander scheme. Reagan was vehemently opposed to higher education and was one of the first Republicans to start pushing the narrative that higher education is equivalent to liberal indoctrination. He was displeased with student protests against the Vietnam War and the draft, declaring student activists “filthy-speech advocates.”
In a Sacramento press conference in 1967, Reagan remarked “The state of California has no business subsidizing intellectual curiosity,” preferring more job training and less academia, despite the truth that Universities have always been hubs of “intellectual curiosity.” This attitude continued throughout Reagan’s time as president as he pushed for a $2.3 billion cut for student aid.
This practice of increasing the price of college while decreasing federal aid for both Universities and students resulted in the advent of student debt, which is now a crisis, and decreased upward mobility as college became more unaffordable. This trend largely began with the Reagan administration and worsened in the following years. The amount of enrollees in higher education has been increasing since the 80’s, but graduates with a four year degree average $30,000 in debt. With 92% having federal student loan debt.
A decrease in upward mobility, along with Reaganomics (the focus of the next article), began to increase income inequality as wages had largely kept up with inflation until his presidency. From 1978 to 2020 CEO wages increased by 1,322%, while the same period saw worker wages rise 17.5%.
“What we have found in this country, and maybe we’re more aware of it now, is one problem that we’ve had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless who are homeless, you might say, by choice.”
Reagan – Good Morning America
That’s right, the homeless are homeless because they want to be. If you’re priced out of college you didn’t try hard enough and you shouldn’t be intellectually curious anyways. You’re experiencing hardship because your benefits were cut? Pick yourself up by the bootstraps and don’t complain. Personal responsibility allowed Reagan to distance himself from every negative side effect of his policies.
Lastly, womens and LGBTQ+ issues were either cast by the wayside or worsened under the Reagan administration.
The most obvious, and most egregious examples, was the Reagan administration’s response to the AIDS epidemic, the Equal Rights Amendment and disaffection for family planning.
The AIDS crisis took America by storm in the 80’s, but was not a concern for the president until the end of his second term. In fact, AIDS was largely viewed as a joke to his administration, called a “gay plague,” and even “gay cancer” early on. This lackadaisical response, in part, allowed the crisis to continue through the 2000’s.
In recently released press conferences, Reagan’s press secretary, Larry Speakes, and reporters can be heard laughing and joking about the issue, from 1981 all the way until 1984. The following transcript is from 1984, when thousands had already died, journalist Lester Kinsolving was the only member of the press pool who tried to hold the President accountable.
Larry Speakes: This is going to be an AIDS question.
Lester Kinsolving: Can I ask the question, Larry? That an estimated 300,000 people have been exposed to AIDS…Will the president, as commander in chief, take steps to protect armed forces, food, and medical services from AIDS patients or those who run the risk of spreading AIDS?
Larry Speakes: I don’t know.
Lester Kinsolving: Is the president concerned about this subject, Larry?
Larry Speakes: I haven’t heard him express concern.
Lester Kinsolving: That seems to have evoked such jocular reaction here. [Press pool laughter.]
Unidentified person: It isn’t only the jocks, Lester.
Lester Kinsolving: No, but I mean, is he going to do anything, Larry?
Larry Speakes: Lester, I have not heard him express anything. Sorry.
Lester Kinsolving: You mean he has expressed no opinion about this epidemic?
Larry Speakes: No, but I must confess I haven’t asked him about it.
Lester Kinsolving: Will you ask him, Larry?
Larry Speakes: Have you been checked? [Press pool laughter.]
Lester Kinsolving: What? Pardon? I didn’t hear your answer.
Larry Speakes: [Laughs.] Ah, it’s hard work. I don’t get paid enough. Um. Is there anything else we need to do here?
The Reagan administration continued to make light of the situation, until, of course, he was personally impacted when his longtime friend, and popular actor, Rock Hudson contracted the disease and passed. Even then, Ronald and Nancy Reagan initially disowned him.
In his second term, Reagan officially addressed the issue. Yet Reagan still embarrassed the U.S. on the world stage. America was the center of the AIDS pandemic, yet he insisted on defaulting on our funding for the World Health Organization, which was intended to fight the crisis, making us the lone nation to do so. The WHO experienced a funding crisis in 1987 due to his actions.
Along with disregard for the struggles of LGBTQ+ Americans, Reagan acted in the same manner towards women’s interests. The Equal Rights Amendment was a guarantee ending discrimination against women in regards to worker pay, divorce and property, among other things. Presidents Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon were in favor, a nearly 20 year record of bilateral support was dashed with a single election.
Reagan opposed, believing “The amendment could be used by mischievous men to destroy discriminations that properly belong by law to women, respecting the physical difference between sexes, the labor laws that protect them against doing things that would be physically harmful to them.”
Joined by Phylis Schlafly, Reagan and conservatives began widely opposing, saying that the legislation would destroy traditional gender roles and would force women into the draft. That women were discriminated against for their own protection, and unable to do certain jobs.
Schlafly was one of the most powerful political advocates of the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. Among other beliefs, she sought the impeachment of a Supreme Court justice for ruling the death penalty inappropriate for minors. She even spoke against the concept of marital rape in the 2000’s, believing it is impossible for a married women to suffer sexual assault at the hands of their husband.
Family planning is crucial to maintaining a healthy society, encompassing counseling, sex education, contraception methods, abortion, STD treatment and pregnancy testing. In the 1970 Public Health Service Act the Office of Family Planning was funded.
Reagan opposed, favoring abstinence, “natural contraception,” and adoption counseling instead. To enact these goals, Reagan’s Superbill blocked funding for establishments which provided abortions, abortion counseling or overlapped with abortion in any way which effectively targeted every clinic, even those who didn’t perform abortions, due to the vagueness of wording.
The Reagan administration demonstrated a clear track record of acting with either ignorance or downright contempt for people of color, those less fortunate than the upper class, issues facing women and the LGBTQ community. Reagan’s actions damaged not only American society, but nations around the world.He was able to escape all fault during and after his presidency by claiming he only wanted to save money and give people freedom to construct their own destiny.
The influence of Reagan is still noticeable in Republican social rhetoric today, in thoughts like invading Mexico because of fentanyl, fear mongering around immigrants of color, the roughly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills in circulation, continued belief in the welfare queen stereotype, Roe v. Wade being repealed and more. It is important to understand why these sentiments are so ingrained in America’s psyche, how prevalent they’ve been for decades,how they impact people of all races, creeds and orientation.
