January 1990

L. Douglas Wilder was inaugurated as Governor of Virginia, becoming the first African American elected governor in United States history. His victory in a former Confederate state was considered one of the most remarkable political achievements of the 20th century.

Wilson became one of the rare playwrights to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, cementing his status as the foremost chronicler of Black American life in the theater. His ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle, one for each decade of the twentieth century, is considered an unparalleled achievement in American dramatic literature.

Carrie Mae Weems created the Kitchen Table Series in 1990, a landmark body of photographic work depicting a Black woman's domestic life, relationships, and interiority through staged scenes shot at a single kitchen table. The series is considered one of the most important works in American photography and feminist art, establishing Weems as a preeminent voice in using photography to explore Black identity, womanhood, and power.

Oakland quartet En Vogue's debut single reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, launching a run that made them one of the best-selling girl groups of the 1990s.

Johnson's philosophical adventure novel set aboard a slave ship won the National Book Award for Fiction, making him the first Black male novelist to win the award since Ralph Ellison in 1953. The novel's blend of philosophy, action, and historical consciousness brought new formal ambition to the neo-slave narrative.

Mosley's debut novel introduced Easy Rawlins, a Black private detective in 1940s Watts, inaugurating a series that redefined African American crime fiction and won wide critical acclaim.

The 'Big Hurt' became one of the most feared hitters in baseball, winning back-to-back AL MVP awards in 1993–1994 and becoming the first player to post six consecutive seasons with a .300 average, 100 RBI, 100 runs, and 100 walks.

The rise of poetry slams in cities including Chicago, New York, and Atlanta created a new Black oral literary tradition, producing poets such as Saul Williams, Patricia Smith, and Marc Bamuthi Joseph.