1991
Lebanon is recognized by Syria as an independent state for the first time since 1943, but fails to secure an Israeli pullout from the south. The 1975-90 civil war claimed over 144,000 lives, largely civilian, and more than 197,000 persons were wounded. Thousands of others were abducted by rival militias and never found.
1991 January
The Soviet army attacks public buildings in Riga and Vilnius.
1991 January 8
Results from a nationwide survey sponsored by the National
Science Foundation; reveals that white Americans continue to hold negative
stereotypes of blacks and Hispanics. Three-quarters of the whites surveyed felt
that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to prefer welfare to work. A Census
Bureau report shows the household worth of whites with families to average eight
times that of Hispanic households and ten times that of black households.
1991 January 15
In a 5 to 3 decision, the United States
Supreme Court puts an end to court ordered busing in the Oklahoma City school
district. Ruling in the case Oklahoma City v. Dowell, the Court declares that
the reemergence of single-race schools, resulting from shifting housing
patterns, does justify continued court ordered busing. The decision overturns an
appeals court ruling refusing to turn the once segregated school district over
to local control.
1991 January 20
A New York Times/CBS poll of public support for military
action in the Persian Gulf reveals that only 47 percent of blacks polled
compared to 80 percent of whites favored intervention. One theory on the
difference in support points to the disproportionate number of blacks to whites
serving in the armed forces. While accounting for only 12 percent of the total
United States population, blacks represent 24.6 percent of the United States
troops in the Gulf. Many blacks point to the problems of drugs and crime as good
places to direct government resources.
1991 February
Western financial analysts estimate that by early 1991 more than $280 billion has been taken out of Russia and deposited in more than 7,000 banking accounts in France, Austria, the Near East and South America.
1991 February 26
The Detroit Board of Education approves, by a 9 to 1 majority, the creation of an all-male school for kindergarten through grade eight. The school's goal would be to provide black male students with an improved learning environment by focusing on the unique problems facing the black male. Critics of the school label the program discriminatory. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women Legal Defense Fund both file suit in federal district court. On August 15, the court rules that such a school must also be open to girls.
1991 February 28
Saddam Hussein's forces withdraw from Kuwait after a 29-nation, US-led coalition mounts a ground campaign after 39 days of ceaseless air attacks.
1991 March 3
Black motorist Rodney King is severely beaten by several white police officers in Los Angeles, California, after being stopped for a speeding violation. The incident is videotaped by a witness, watching from his apartment balcony.
1991 March 28
Troops are called out in Moscow to control an estimated 250,000 demonstrators in Pushkin Square and then at the Russian White House.
1991 March 31
The Warsaw Pact is formally disbanded.
1991 April
Saddam Hussein accepts a UN ceasefire resolution which stipulates that UN sanctions against Iraq will be lifted only after Iraq has been divested of its non-conventional arms and medium-range missiles.
1991 May 4
During the Novo-Ogarovo talks, Latvia follows its neighbor Lithuania in affirming its independence.
1991 May 6
The creation of a National African American Museum within Washington's Smithsonian Institute is approved by the institution's board of regents. The museum will include print and broadcast images of African Americans, along with black art and artifacts.
1991 May 12
Students at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, hold a
silent protest while President George Bush gives the commencement address. The
students point to the administration's policies regarding civil rights as a
reason for the demonstration.
1991 May 14
The Washington-based Urban Institute releases its study on job
discrimination. The study, conducted in Washington, DC and Chicago, Illinois,
reveals that whites seeking entry-level positions were three times more likely
to receive favorable treatment than equally qualified blacks.
1991 May 26
A Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashes in Thailand, killing all 223 people aboard.
1991 May 31
Leaders of Angola's two warring factions sign a peace treaty, ending 16-years of civil war.
1991 June 3
The United States Supreme Court, in the case
of Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., rules that potential jurors can not be
excluded from civil cases on the basis of race. The Court had, in two earlier
cases, ruled that jurors could not be excluded because of race in criminal
cases.
1991 June 4
After defeating two other civil rights
bills, the United States House of Representatives, by a vote of 273 to 158,
passes a civil rights bill. The bill is an effort by Congress to reverse the
Supreme Court's 1989 ruling in Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio and make it
easier for victims of job discrimination to sue for damages. President Bush
opposes such legislation, claiming that it will force employers to set quotas
for hiring minorities, in order to protect themselves from possible
discrimination suits.
1991 June 12
Boris Yeltsin becomes first democratically elected Russian president.
1991 June 20
The United States Supreme Court, hearing in
two separate cases, Chison v. Roemer and Houston Lawyers v. Texas, rules that
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is applicable to judicial elections. The cases
arose from lower court rulings in Louisiana and Texas, which claimed that judges
were not representatives, and therefore the election of such was not covered by
the act.
1991 June 25
The Yugoslavian republics of Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence.
1991 June 27
United States Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, citing his poor health and advancing age, announces his plans
to retire from the bench. Marshall, appointed to the Court by President Lyndon
B. Johnson in 1967 was the first African American to serve on the nation's
highest court.
1991 July
President George Bush nominates black Court
of Appeals Judge Clarence Thomas to replace the retiring Justice Thurgood
Marshall. Thomas, a conservative and former chairman of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, was appointed by Bush in 1990 to the federal appeals
court. Stating that while chairman of the EEOC, Thomas failed to display
sensitivity regarding affirmative action, major national organizations,
including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the
Congressional Black Caucus, voice opposition to the Thomas nomination.
