Editing Generation X (section)

=====Crack epidemic and AIDS=====
Gen Xers came of age or were children during the 1980s [[crack epidemic]], which disproportionately impacted urban areas as well as the African-American community. The U.S. Drug turf battles increased violent crime. [[Crack cocaine|Crack addiction]] impacted communities and families. Between 1984 and 1989, the homicide rate for black males aged 14 to 17 doubled in the U.S., and the homicide rate for black males aged 18 to 24 increased almost as much. The crack epidemic had a destabilizing impact on families, with an increase in the number of children in foster care.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dunlap |first=Eloise |date=2006 |title=The Severely-Distressed African American Family in the Crack Era: Empowerment is not Enough |journal=J Sociol Soc Welf |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=115{{ndash}}139 |pmid=18852841 |pmc=2565489 }}</ref> In 1986, President Reagan signed the [[Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986|Anti-Drug Abuse Act]] to enforce strict [[Mandatory sentencing|mandatory minimum sentencing]] for drug users. He also increased the federal budget for supply-reduction efforts.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fryer|first1=Roland|date=April 2006|title=Measuring Crack Cocaine and Its Impact|url=http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/fhlm_crack_cocaine_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007234650/http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/fhlm_crack_cocaine_0.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2013 |url-status=live|journal=Harvard University Society of Fellows|pages=3, 66|access-date=4 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/yuppies-beware-here-comes-generation-x/article_ce19c561-c82d-51b0-a0f9-0f680bc50da9.html|title=Yuppies, Beware: Here Comes Generation X|date=9 July 1991|newspaper=Tulsa World|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228212911/https://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/yuppies-beware-here-comes-generation-x/article_ce19c561-c82d-51b0-a0f9-0f680bc50da9.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Fear of the impending [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s loomed over the formative years of Generation X. The emergence of AIDS coincided with Gen X's adolescence, with the disease first clinically observed in the U.S. in 1981. By 1985, an estimated one-to-two million Americans were HIV-positive. This particularly hit the [[LGBT]] community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABtjR7Bc84SyiSRKv6VQ3xatq2VPWu1GfUD_ckT_c5g_EtJI3HGX5x9IT68-4FfKqdrDftJ9HAQ9u4UM5XXjNA_HERTn7paNfwbGt1TI9MEkHC3DKQKBpIVnbvJ22FF_ewfIeJGyyBidkzrBXNndRk2Td29GCvpC1GZxqxr524E6|title=The Disease That Defined My Generation|last=Haltikis|first=Perry|date=2 February 2016|website=Huffington Post|access-date=11 March 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801005145/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABtjR7Bc84SyiSRKv6VQ3xatq2VPWu1GfUD_ckT_c5g_EtJI3HGX5x9IT68-4FfKqdrDftJ9HAQ9u4UM5XXjNA_HERTn7paNfwbGt1TI9MEkHC3DKQKBpIVnbvJ22FF_ewfIeJGyyBidkzrBXNndRk2Td29GCvpC1GZxqxr524E6|url-status=live}}</ref> As the virus spread, at a time before effective treatments were available, a public panic ensued. [[Sex education]] programs in schools were adapted to address the AIDS epidemic, which taught Gen X students that sex could kill them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/generation-x/videos/gen-x-reacts-to-aids/|title=Generation X Reacts to AIDS|date=2016|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=National Geographic Channel|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427015344/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/generation-x/videos/gen-x-reacts-to-aids/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Halkitis|first1=Perry|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/perry-n-halkitis-phd-ms/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884.html|title=The Disease That Defined My Generation|date=2 February 2016|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809002203/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/perry-n-halkitis-phd-ms/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884.html|url-status=live}}</ref>