Wow, what a year it has been, and it's not over yet! You name it, it's happened or is happening:
- A Global Pandemic due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which has led to hospital beds filled to capacity, countless deaths, an economic recession, staggering unemployment and stay-at-home orders all over the globe.
- An Upsurge in the Black Lives Matter Movement after the Killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died from asphyxiation after a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer knelt with his knee on his neck for a full 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
- Mass Protests all over the world to counter social injustices, police brutality and systemic racism against Black and Brown people.
- Countless other killings of People of Color, including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks, to name a few.
- Calls to Defund the Police.
- The U.S. Supreme Court's historic ruling that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.
- The death of Civil Rights Icon, Representative John Lewis.
- Mega-Fires raging in Northern California.
- Murder Hornets.
- Desert Locusts.
- A record-setting Hurricane Season.
- Kamala Harris, an African American/Asian American woman, and an HBCU grad, has been selected as the Democratic Candidate for Vice President of the United States of America.
- The United States Postal Service (USPS) is in dire need of funding and the President and Congress are fighting over what to do about it while the clock is ticking.
- Cutbacks and major operational changes have been made at the USPS months before the Presidential Election, leading to processing slowdowns and fears that mail-in votes will not be received in a timely manner and, therefore, not counted. Voters who choose to go to the polls to vote run the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19.
- The major Call To Action is to VOTE by any means necessary.
The list goes on and on. This is a year that we will never forget, so I felt compelled to create a new design, 2020, that captures some of these events:
- Love for the USPS
- I Can't Breathe
- Black Lives Matter
- Pride
- Vote
- Good Trouble
- See Something, Say Something
- No Mask, No Entry
I don't know anyone who hasn't been affected by the events of this year in some way. Even Michelle Obama, in one of her podcasts, said that she is “dealing with some form of low-grade depression.” She's not alone. In conversations I have with friends and family members I hear a similar sentiment, and I have my days when I feel the heaviness of it all too. Thankfully, I don't wallow in those feelings, and I encourage anyone else who experiences them too to try to stay hopeful that things will get better in time. If you know someone who needs a bit of help, do what you can even if it's just to talk awhile. I can't wait until the day comes when we'll be gathered together, mask-less, celebrating the fact that we made it through and are happy and grateful to be on the other side. In the meantime, stay safe, stay strong, and be sure to VOTE!