January 1995

The U.S. prison population doubled during the 1990s, driven by mandatory minimums and the War on Drugs. By 1995, Black men were incarcerated at eight times the rate of white men. Drug arrests of Black Americans increased 26% between 1990 and 1995 even as drug use surveys showed comparable rates across races. One in three Black men in their twenties was under criminal justice supervision by 1995.

By 1995, one in three Black men in their twenties was under criminal justice supervision — prison, jail, probation, or parole — according to the Sentencing Project. Black men were incarcerated at eight times the rate of white men. The U.S. prison population doubled during the 1990s, driven by mandatory minimums and drug enforcement.

Between 1995 and 1996, at least 66 predominantly Black churches were burned across the South and elsewhere, including Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal congregations. Fires destroyed historic churches in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Congress passed the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 unanimously. President Clinton convened a task force; investigators linked some fires to white supremacist groups.