August 1997
Haitian immigrant Abner Louima was arrested outside Club Rendez-Vous in Brooklyn by NYPD officers and taken to the 70th Precinct, where Officer Justin Volpe sodomized him with a broken broomstick handle in a bathroom, rupturing his bladder and colon. Volpe pleaded guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. The city paid Louima $8.75 million in settlement.
Black farmer Timothy Pigford and 400 others filed a class-action lawsuit — Pigford v. Glickman — against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging systematic discrimination in farm loan processing that caused thousands of Black farmers to lose their land from 1981–1996. The USDA's own data showed Black loan applicants waited 3–5 times longer for decisions. A 1999 consent decree awarded $1 billion to approximately 16,000 claimants.
Events
- August 9, 1997NYPD Officer Justin Volpe Sodomizes Abner Louima at 70th Precinct
Haitian immigrant Abner Louima was arrested outside Club Rendez-Vous in Brooklyn by NYPD officers and taken to the 70th Precinct, where Officer Justin Volpe sodomized him with a broken broomstick handle in a bathroom, rupturing his bladder and colon. Volpe pleaded guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. The city paid Louima $8.75 million in settlement.
- August 28, 1997Black Farmers File Suit Over USDA Loan Discrimination
Black farmer Timothy Pigford and 400 others filed a class-action lawsuit — Pigford v. Glickman — against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging systematic discrimination in farm loan processing that caused thousands of Black farmers to lose their land from 1981–1996. The USDA's own data showed Black loan applicants waited 3–5 times longer for decisions. A 1999 consent decree awarded $1 billion to approximately 16,000 claimants.
- August 28, 1997Black Farmers File Class Action Over USDA Loan Discrimination
Timothy Pigford and 400 Black farmers filed Pigford v. Glickman against the USDA, alleging systematic discrimination in farm loan processing causing thousands to lose land from 1981-1996. USDA data showed Black applicants waited 3-5 times longer for decisions than white applicants. The 1999 consent decree ultimately awarded $1 billion.
- August 28, 1997Black Farmers File Class Action Over USDA Loan Discrimination
Timothy Pigford and 400 Black farmers filed Pigford v. Glickman against the USDA, alleging systematic loan processing discrimination causing thousands to lose land from 1981-1996. USDA data showed Black applicants waited 3-5 times longer for decisions than white applicants. The 1999 consent decree awarded $1 billion.