Black College Graduate Making a Bundle Off of Crack Cocaine Documentary

Daryl Smith is a 30-year-old graduate of North Carolina Central University, the historically black educational institution in Durham. He has produced a controversial new documentary film entitled Crackheads Gone Wild. The film, available on DVD, shows a series of street interviews of people addicted to crack cocaine. Most of the subjects are African Americans. One scene shows a couple having sex in a public park while taking hits off a crack pipe.

Smith, who has a marketing degree, claims that the film is not exploiting the people he portrays, despite the fact that none of them were paid for their appearances. He says that the film is meant as an educational device to warn people of the dangers of crack cocaine addiction.

The 55-minute film has sold more than 60,000 copies at $15 each. A new version with additional profiles of drug users is scheduled for release later this month.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.