Donald Goines: Addict, Author, and Hip-Hop Influencer
The tragic life of a prominent writer of urban fiction
Donald Goines wanted out of Detroit. Donnie, as his family and friends called him, grew up in a middle class black American family. But he was rowdy. And his dad kept pestering him to work in the family dry cleaning business. Donnie wanted nothing to do with the cleaners. He needed to get away.
To do so, the 15-year-old Goines doctored a fake birth certificate to become 17 years old. He then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. It was 1951, and the Korean War was underway. Soon, Goines was in Japan, then Korea, serving as a military police officer.
Despite his job as a rule enforcer, Goines developed some bad habits while in the service. He enjoyed prostitutes and heroin. He never saw combat, but Goines’s time in the Korean War still left him scarred.
Back to Motor City
After the war, Goines received an honorable discharge and returned to Detroit. He was a 17-year-old heroin addict. His addiction cost as much as $100 a day to support, roughly $1,055 today. Goines turned to crime to pay for…
