January 3, 2021
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 25, Issue 50
“Our vote and our money are the two most powerful things we have. Be careful who you give them to.” - Roy Douglas Malonson
“Addressing Current & Historical Realties Affecting Our Community”
By: N.L. Preston
The highs and lows of 2020 ranged from the rage surrounding murders of innocent Black folks, to the giddiness of discovering the availability of toilet paper. Overall, it was a year of learning how to truly count your blessings, embrace loved ones and feed families on a pot of beans, rice and cornbread. Here is look back at a year the world will never forget. KAMALA HARRIS MAKES HISTORY Former Vice President Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election, and will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021. His running mate,
2020 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
former California Senator Kamala Harris has made history, soon-tobecome the first Black and South Asian person, and the first woman, to be vice president of the U.S. The 2020 presidential election made history with the highest voter turnout since 1900, with each of the two main tickets receiving more than 74 million votes, surpassing Barack Obama’s record of 69.5 million votes from 2008. Biden received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in a U.S. presidential election. The Democratic ticket of Biden and Harris defeated the Republican ticket of incumbent president Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Trump became the first U.S. president
since George H. W. Bush in 1992 and the 11th in the country’s history to lose a bid for a second term, and Biden won the largest share of the popular vote against an incumbent since 1932. COVID
In March, the COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, came about and knocked the world to its knees. The ongoing disease, which was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020 and a pandemic
in March 2020, shutting down businesses, travel and recreational activities. Panic buying became a major international phenomenon in February and March 2020, when stores around the world were depleted of items such as face masks, food, bottled water, milk, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, antibacterial wipes, painkillers and toilet paper. As of December 2020, more than 79.9 million cases have been confirmed, with more than 1.75 million deaths attributed to COVID-19. Statistics show that one in 1,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. VACCINES
As the year drew to a close, the world breathed a collective (and cau-
tiously optimistic) sigh of relief as both Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were developed and approved, both with a nearly 95 % efficacy rate. Millions of the vaccines were shipped around the world with a Black registered nurse, Sandra Lindsay of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, becoming the very person in America to be vaccinated, and Robert Luckey, a Black registered nurse who works in the Memorial Hermann COVID-19 ICU in the Texas Medical Center, becoming the first to get vaccinated in Houston. SPORTS Patrick Lavon Mahomes II, a graduate of Texas Tech University, led the Kansas City Chiefs to Super
Bowl LIV, their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers for their first Super Bowl victory since 1970. At 24 years old, Mahomes was awarded the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, becoming the second African-American quarterback to win the award, and youngest overall. He is the third African-American quarterback and the second youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl. NEGRO LEAGUES In an attempt to right the wrongs of past racial inequality, Major League Baseball (MLB) added players from the Negro Leagues to its official re-
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