1999

Four NYPD Street Crimes Unit officers — Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon, and Richard Murphy — fired 41 shots at Amadou Diallo, 23, a Guinean immigrant, in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building, striking him 19 times. Diallo had reached for his wallet. All four officers were acquitted of all charges in February 2000. The killing and acquittal sparked mass protests across New York.

Federal Judge Paul Friedman approved the Pigford v. Glickman consent decree, the largest civil rights settlement in USDA history. Approximately 16,000 Black farmers received an average $50,000 each, while a second track allowed larger claims with higher evidentiary requirements. The number of Black-operated farms had declined from 925,000 in 1920 to under 18,000 by 1997, with discriminatory federal lending a documented cause.

Following Amadou Diallo's killing, weeks of daily civil disobedience protests occurred at One Police Plaza in Manhattan. Over 1,200 people were arrested in deliberate acts of civil disobedience organized by Rev. Al Sharpton and others, including former Mayor David Dinkins, Rep. Charles Rangel, and actress Susan Sarandon. The protests were among the largest acts of sustained civil disobedience in New York since the civil rights era.

Over 1,200 people were arrested in deliberate civil disobedience at One Police Plaza in Manhattan after Amadou Diallo's killing, including former Mayor David Dinkins, Rep. Charles Rangel, and actress Susan Sarandon. Organized by Rev. Al Sharpton, the protests were among the largest acts of sustained civil disobedience in New York since the civil rights era.

NYPD Officer Justin Volpe was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to violating Abner Louima's civil rights. Co-defendant Officer Charles Schwarz was convicted of holding Louima down and received 15 years. The prosecution was the most severe federal sentence for a law enforcement officer in New York history. It followed massive protests outside NYPD headquarters organized by Rev. Al Sharpton.

The Adams Mark Hotels chain faced multiple federal discrimination lawsuits in 1999 alleging staff used code words to segregate Black guests, charged them higher rates, and provided inferior service. The Justice Department opened an investigation. A 2000 consent decree required the chain to pay $8 million and institute anti-discrimination training. The case was one of several major hotel discrimination actions of the decade.