Sam Hurd had the opportunity to live out his NFL dream as a member of the Chicago Bears. And beyond playing the game he loved since a youth, Hurd earned enough money to be financially secure for the rest of his life if he managed his money correctly. He would have earned $685,000 in 2011 and had one more year remaining on a $3.9 million contract.
However, Hurd’s greed could cost him the next 40 years of his life. According to reports, Hurd was arrested after attempting to buy 5 to 10 kilos of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in Chicago. Hurd told the undercover cop that he and another gentleman distribute 4 kilos of cocaine per week, but their supplier couldn’t keep up with demands.
One kilo of cocaine retails for up to $30,000 in Chicago.
Hurd, like many other young black males, fell victim to the the “Dope Dealer Lie.” The “Dope Dealer Lie” suggests that there is an opportunity to beat the drug game by selling enough dope to leave the criminal life and start new. It’s an untruth that’s been glorified in music and other forms of pop culture.
There are instances where young poor black males became millionaires by running drugs. Rayful Edmond, AZ, Alpo, Rich Porter, Miami Boys, Young Boys Inc, the real Rick Ross, and B.M.F. all made millions before the age of 30 by selling drugs. However, none survived or remained free long enough to reap great benefits.
Crime will occur in America, because it’s a nation built on crime (i.e. taking land from the Indians and kidnapping blacks and forcing them into slavery).
But while other races have profited greatly from crime, there hasn’t been a black man who became so wealthy from drug dealing that he was able to build a respectable business empire.
The Kennedys became wealthy by bootlegging liquor during prohibition and NASCAR began after bootleggers created faster cars to avoid police in the Appalachians.
But black men can’t experience the American dream through the means of crime. It won’t happen. While Jay-Z, Rick Ross and other rappers speak on the perils of life as a drug dealer but suggest that it is a solution to poverty, there are thousands of black men dead or in jail who bought into the myth. Unfortunately, Hurd will not be the last to fall victim to the “Dope Dealer Lie.”–amir shaw
