Timeline

1963 – The Committee on the District of Columbia releases a crime report that outlines the significant increase of crime in Washington, D.C.

1967 – The Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Assistance Act of 1967 aka “The Omnibus Crime Bill” is introduced.

1971 – At the Attica Correctional Facility in New York, Attica inmates take 38 prison guards hostage. Four days later, 39 people were dead, including correctional officers, civil employees, and prisoners. This served as the catalyst for future work on prison reform led by the Congressional Black Caucus.

1984 – The Sentencing Reform Act is signed into law by President Reagan.

1986 – The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 is signed into law by President Reagan.

1988 – The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 is signed into law by President Reagan.

1991 – a brutal beating of Rodney King by at least four white officers is caught on tape. This incensed in the public, and especially within the black community, outrage and accusations of police brutality motivated by race.

1989 – Rep. Conyers introduces the Racial Justice Act.

1994 – President Clinton passes Crime Bill. There is contention about the bill within the CBC.

1995 – Hampton University student Kemba Smith is sentenced to 25 years in prison on crack cocaine charges.

2001 – Delegate Holmes Norton introduces the Racial Profiling Prohibition Act of 2001.

2006 – Six black teenagers from Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana were convicted in the beating of a fellow white student, Justin Barker. Initially charged with attempted second-degree murder, the charges were later reduced following advocacy efforts of organizations including the CBC, NAACP, churches, and student-led protests on college and university campuses across America.

2007 – The Second Chance Act is introduced by Rep. Danny Davis and later signed into law in 2008.

2010 – Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 is introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott and passed by President Obama.