(born 1927) Mayor of New York City (1990–4). The first African American to lead New York City, Dinkins pledged to heal ethnic divisions in the nation’s largest and most diverse metropolis. Dinkins’ tenure was instead marred by racial violence—in particular, the 1991 Crown Heights riots that erupted over rifts between African Americans and Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn. Dinkins was plagued by allegations that he mishandled the crisis, criticism that subsequently contributed to his failed bid for a second term. He was defeated by former prosecutor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who had a strong law-and-order reputation.