2008

By 2008 the U.S. incarcerated 2.3 million people — the world's largest prison population. Black men were incarcerated at a rate of 3,161 per 100,000, compared to 487 per 100,000 for white men. One in nine Black men aged 20–34 was behind bars. The Pew Center reported that 1 in 100 American adults was incarcerated; for Black men in their thirties, the ratio was 1 in 36.

The 2008 financial crisis, driven in part by predatory subprime mortgage lending concentrated in Black and Latino neighborhoods, devastated Black household wealth. Between 2005 and 2009, median Black household net worth fell 53 percent — from $12,124 to $5,677 — compared to a 16 percent drop for white households. The Pew Research Center documented the widest Black-white wealth gap in 25 years.

Obama won 365 electoral votes, defeating John McCain. He won 95% of the Black vote; Black voter turnout exceeded white turnout for the first time in recorded history. Civil rights scholars cautioned against framing the election as the end of structural racism.

Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first Black person to hold the office. He won with 52.9 percent of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes, carrying states including Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, and Ohio. His election drew record Black voter turnout and was witnessed by over a million people gathered in Chicago's Grant Park.

The U.S. prison population peaked at approximately 2.3 million people in 2008, the highest incarceration rate in the world. Black men were incarcerated at a rate six times higher than white men. One in nine Black men between ages 20 and 34 was behind bars. Michelle Alexander's 'The New Jim Crow,' published in 2010, synthesized the structural analysis of mass incarceration as racial control.

Justice Arthur Cooperman acquitted Detectives Gescard Isnora, Michael Oliver, and Marc Cooper of all charges — manslaughter, assault, and reckless endangerment — in the 50-shot killing of Sean Bell. The verdict drew massive protests. The DOJ subsequently declined to bring federal charges. The city later settled a civil suit with Bell's family for $3.25 million.

Federal prosecutors indicted former Chicago Police Area 2 commander Jon Burge for perjury and obstruction of justice related to his lying about supervising the torture of over 100 Black men from 1972 to 1991. Burge could not be charged with torture itself due to statutes of limitations. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 4.5 years. The case was the result of decades of organizing by survivors, lawyers, and journalist John Conroy.

Burge was indicted for perjury after lying about supervising torture of over 100 Black men at Area 2 from 1972-1991. Statutes of limitations barred torture charges. Convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 4.5 years, his prosecution followed decades of organizing by survivors and journalist John Conroy.

Baltimore became the first U.S. city to sue a major bank under the Fair Housing Act, alleging Wells Fargo concentrated foreclosures in Black neighborhoods through reverse redlining. A former loan officer's affidavit described targeting Black churches for subprime products. The case established a template for municipal fair-lending litigation.

Baltimore became the first U.S. city to sue a major bank — Wells Fargo — under the Fair Housing Act, alleging the bank's reverse redlining concentrated foreclosures in Black neighborhoods. The suit cited a former Wells Fargo loan officer's affidavit describing instructions to target Black churches and community organizations for subprime products. The case was dismissed on standing grounds but established a template for subsequent municipal fair-lending litigation.

After Judge Cooperman acquitted all three NYPD detectives in the Sean Bell shooting, thousands marched across New York City, blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and in Times Square. Al Sharpton and Bell's fiancée Nicole Paultre Bell led demonstrations. The DOJ opened a civil rights investigation; no federal charges were ultimately filed. The city settled a civil suit for $3.25 million in 2010.