1991

LAPD officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Sgt. Stacey Koon beat Rodney King with batons 56 times following a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace, CA. Bystander George Holliday filmed the 81-second attack. King suffered skull fractures, broken bones, and brain damage. The footage was broadcast nationally.

Johnson's announcement shattered myths about who could contract HIV, brought the epidemic into mainstream American awareness, and made him a global ambassador for HIV/AIDS education.

By the mid-1990s, HIV/AIDS had become the leading cause of death for Black Americans aged 25–44. Black Americans represented 13% of the population but by 1996 accounted for 41% of new AIDS cases. Intravenous drug use, inadequate healthcare access, and legacy distrust from the Tuskegee Syphilis Study contributed to disproportionate impact. The CDC declared Black America a special focus area in 1998.

Latasha Harlins, 15, was shot in the back of the head by Korean store owner Soon Ja Du at Empire Liquor Market in South Los Angeles after a dispute over a bottle of orange juice. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but sentenced to probation, a $500 fine, and community service — no prison time. The verdict inflamed Black-Korean tensions before the 1992 uprising.

Law professor Anita Hill testified before the all-white male Senate Judiciary Committee that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. Thomas was confirmed 52–48. Hill's treatment by senators galvanized Black women voters and contributed to the 1992 Year of the Woman elections. Thomas became the second Black Supreme Court Justice but Black women remained overwhelmingly opposed to his confirmation.

Law professor Anita Hill testified before an all-white male Senate Judiciary Committee that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. Thomas was confirmed 52-48. Hill's treatment galvanized Black women voters and contributed to the 1992 Year of the Woman elections. Thomas became the second Black Supreme Court Justice.

Julie Stewart founded Families Against Mandatory Minimums in Washington, D.C. in 1991 after her brother received five years for marijuana distribution under mandatory minimum laws. FAMM grew into a major advocacy organization documenting racially disparate application of mandatory sentences and lobbying Congress for sentencing reform. Black families and communities of color comprised a significant portion of the organization's affected constituency.

A videotaped police beating in Los Angeles draws national outrage.

Hill's testimony at the Clarence Thomas hearings spotlights race and gender.