After a tedious and all around stressful year, we have finally made it to 2021! To be here is an accomplishment within itself considering the obstacles that we have just endured. It has been declared by many that this year is our safe haven. Many individuals within the black community have stated that this is our time. That this is the year that black people will no longer be held under a modern day capitalist slavery. On the other hand, others wish to not get their hopes up since Covid-19 is still around and things are not exactly "back to normal".
One topic that consistently plagued this country in 2020, other than the looming future of the virus, was politics. 2020 was the year of another Presidential election and everyone was on the edge of their seats, biting their fingernails, waiting to see who would lead this country to it's destiny, and essentially what would happen in the future based on the outcome. In the end, which was just a couple of days ago due to a setback, it was confirmed that Joe Biden is the new President-Elect.
We hoped, and many prayed, that the political drama and the severe need of societal fights for justice would be left in "The Year That Shall Not Be Named", but sadly we were disappointed. On January 6th, the U.S Capitol was stormed by individuals upset about the results of the election. This was an upsetting and very confusing day for a lot of people, as well as the aforementioned setback of the electoral college votes. The main question that everyone wants answered is: What Happened?
What happened that made the security at the capitol so unprepared? What happened to the police in this situation? What happened that made them want to go so far? Black people are more or less outraged at the way the situation in DC was handled. It is not about the fact that they did not use heavy artillery and all resources with this group as much as they do with black people, it is about the fact that the extreme measures are taken with black people in the first place.
It is without question that the actions that took place on this past Wednesday were aggressive, dangerous and not handled similarly to less severe peaceful protests by people who stand for the Black Lives Matter Movement. These are the kinds of actions and racism that many hoped to leave behind, yet here we are faced with it at the very beginning of the year. It poses another question and that is: Will this year really be any different after all?
Only time can tell.
