Black History Month 2025
2000 2001-2009 2010
42 William J. Clinton | 43 George W. Bush | 44 Barack Obama
Affirmative Action Mass Incarceration Reparations Movement
Mass Incarceration
United States - Whites began the process of putting Black Americans, mostly young men, in jail in massive waves of arrests. The pretense was that there was a crime problem and a drug problem. This combined with the supposed HIV/AIDS scare, which was targeted at Black American women.
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Timothy Thomas Killed By Police
Cincinnati, Ohio - Cincinnati police worker Stephen Roach killed Timothy Thomas. The night Thomas was killed, nine police workers chased him, on foot. They had an arrest warrent, with his name on it, for minor infractions. Almost all were for driving without a license and not wearing a seat belt.
During the foot chase, Thomas turned a corner, into a dark alley. Stephen Roach was in the alley and saw Thomas. As Thomas reached to pull up his pants, Roach shot Thomas in the chest, at close range. Thomas died on the way to the hospital. At the time of his death, Thomas was 19 years of age.
Roach was tried and cleared of the killing of Thomas. This shooting led to the most violent riot, in the United States, that year.
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World Trade Center Attacked (9/11)
New York, New York - Hundreds of Black Americans were killed in terrorist attacks, in one day. They died at the World Trade Center. Many more were injured.
At 8:46 a.m., there was an explosion at the northern facade, of the North Tower, of the World Trade Center.
At 9:03 a.m., there was an explosion at the southern facade, of the South Tower, of the World Trade Center.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed.
At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower collapsed.
The Marriott World Trade Center was destroyed after both towers collapsed on it. It was 22 stories tall, with 825 rooms.
At 5:20:52 p.m., 7 World Trade Center collapsed. It was a 47-story building.
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Katrina Hit New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana - Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans. The levees that protected the lower Ninth Ward were destroyed. The United States military used explosives to breach the levee and flood eastern New Orelans.
On August 23, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was spotted. It started as a tropical storm. On August 25, 2005, it became a hurricane, in Florida. On August 26, 2005, Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico and got worse.
On Sunday, August 28th, 2005, thousands of people took shelter in the New Orleans Superdome. This included 150 National Guardsmen.
Over time, the military sent more to shelter there. It reached 15,000-20,000 people. It included the old, women, children, the sick, and the disabled. The vast majority were Black American.
On Monday, August 29th, 2005, just after midnight, Katrina hit New Orleans. The rain began. Hurricane force winds battered the buildings. It continued until about 7 a.m.
At 6:20 a.m., the power failed in the Superdome. Medical equipment failed. Only emergency lights worked in the almost dark building.
By 7:00 a.m., the worst of the storm had passed. Katrina dumped 5-10 inches of rain on New Orleans, in 24 hours. There was minor flooding and property damage. The leevees were intact.
Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., the 7th Street levee was destroyed. the United States military used explosives to breech the levee. It made a hole that was 3 football fields long.
This was the largest leevee in the city. It sat next to the Lower Ninth Ward, in southeast New Orleans. At the time, it was 98% Black American. Many were homeowners.
At 9:00 a.m., the roof of the Superdome began to fail. People saw the sky, through the roof. Rain poured into the building. The military stopped anyone from leaving.
At the same time, a 10 foot wave of water rushed into the Lower Ninth Ward. It flooded the entire ward. 100,000 homes were destroyed. Most of the Black American homeowners never recovered and never returned.
The highest parts of the Lower Ninth Ward were flooded. This included private homes and the Holy Cross School. The school served as a shelter during Hurricane Betsy, in 1965. The government broke those levees, too.
By 11:00 p.m., Mayor Ray Nagin said there was major damage to the city. Bodies were seen in the water, mainly in the Lower Ninth Ward.
On August 30th, 2005, the Superdome began to fill with water. There was no clean water, no toilets, and an awful odor.
By August 31st, 2005, three (3) people had died, in the Superdome. Two were elderly. One man committed suicide.
New Orleans lost at least 1,800 lives due to the blown levees. Most lived in the Lower Ninth Ward and Lakeview neighborhoods. City-wide, over 150,000 homes were flooded. The hardest hit was the Lower Ninth Ward.
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Oscar Grant Killed By Police
Oakland, California - Oscar Grant III was shot and killed by Johannes Mehserle, Thursday at 2:15 a.m. Grant III was shot point-blank and face down, with Mehserle on his back. Mehserle worked for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police.
The round that Mehserle shot into Grant, bounced off the concrete, into Grant's lungs. Grant cried out immediately that Mehserle shot him. Less than seven hours later, Grant died at 9:13 a.m., at Highland Hospital, in Oakland, California.
On January 30th, 2010, Mehserle was charged with Grant's murder. Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months in jail.
The last day of Oscar Grant's life was made into a movie, Fruitvale Station (2013).
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