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Larry Wilmore Slams America's Racist Drug Laws ... Obama's releasing 6,000 non-violent drug offenders and that's a very, very good thing.

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Peter Burgess

Larry Wilmore Slams America's Racist Drug Laws ... Obama's releasing 6,000 non-violent drug offenders and that's a very, very good thing.

Over the weekend, the Obama administration released about 6,000 non-violent offenders in a relatively bold gesture of criminal justice reform—a top priority of the White House as its two terms come to an end. Larry Wilmore took time out Monday night to put this move in broader context, pointing out that for decades African Americans have been unfairly jailed based on racist mandatory minimums that varied wildly by the nature of the drug.

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'Okay, let me break this down,' Wilmore said. 'There was a time in America where black people were treated unfairly by the government. I know it sounds outrageous, you guys, but ask your parents. And many of these penalties unfairly targeted those in the 'urban communities.''

Wilmore is referring to the infamous disparities in the sentencing of crack versus cocaine. In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which attempted to lessen this disparity, yet thousands remained in jail.

'A person only needed five grams of crack to be charged as a felony,' the Nightly Show host explained. 'Whereas you needed 500 grams of cocaine for a felony charge. This is why I've always told the kids, hey, do cocaine.'

The prisoners were released over the weekend, and needless to say, the right-wing press is already ready to demagogue the president.

Watch the clip below:

Adam Johnson is an associate editor at AlterNet. Follow him on Twitter at @adamjohnsonnyc.