Happy New Year: Welcome to 2020.

2020 is year. I certainly blessed enough to witness almost a quarter of the 21st century being completed. This is a new decade too which has been characterized by a rapid advance of technology (from Oculus to 5G cell phone devices), innovative shows, new social movements, and the same dedication to justice which is embraced by people from across generations. 2020 began on Wednesday, and the start of this new decade of the 2020s is undoubtedly filled with excitement. Also, problems from the previous decade continue in this new decade. For example, the U.S. is sending more troops to the Middle East after tensions arising at the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. Iraqi nationalists and pro-Iranian protesters have existed. Iranian and American relations are bad at this moment. This year will see the proceeding of the impeachment trial of the Senate. Trump is now an impeached President in 2020. This year will witness historic anniversaries as well. This year of 2020 is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Many of our grandparents and great-grandparents were veterans of World War II. The Allied Powers did the right thing to stop the genocide of Jewish people plus others (who were victims of the Shoah) and to liberate millions of people in multiple continents from Axis tyranny. This year will be the 25th year anniversary of the creation of the controversial World Trade Organization (WTO). This year will be the 10th year anniversary of the tragic Haiti Earthquake.

This year will be the 250th year anniversary of the Boston Massacre that took place on March 5, 1770. This was when many colonists opposed the British Parliament imposing taxes on them to pay for the Seven Year War (1753-1763). Many colonists refused to pay taxes, because they said that they had no representation in the British Parliament. Boston was one of the earliest pro-independence locations in America back then. Colonists and British soldiers clashed. British soldiers shot into the crowd causing many colonists to die. One of the persons who died was Crispus Attucks, who was an African American. The Attucks Theater in Norfolk, Virginia is named after him. Many soldiers were acquitted and some were found guilty for reduced charges. John Adams said that this Boston Massacre was one foundation of the American independence movement. As we know now, the American Revolution was complex, and many Founders owned slaves while hypocritically criticizing the nefarious British Empire (which is complicit in imperialism, slavery, colonialism, and the theft of resources on many continents).

This year is the 50th year anniversary of the invasion of Cambodia by the U.S. on April 30, 1970 by Nixon. This caused protests nationwide (because Nixon expanded the Vietnam War and his actions in Cambodia were overtly illegal) and resulted in the tragic killings of students at Kent State University in Ohio and Jackson State College in Mississippi. Also, this year will be the 10th anniversary of the I-Pad which was released on April 3.We still use the I-Pad to this very day. The I-Pad is a magnificent device. 2020 will be a year of new developments, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, changes, and growth. Hopefully, by the end of 2020, we shall see a new leader elected as President. I will vote. In the meantime, we love democratic freedom, justice, and pan-African unity.

I have always have hope. We are fully aware of the problems of the world from climate change to economic inequality. The reason for hope is that we have been here before. Back during the 1960's, the Jim Crow apartheid system was real. Yet, people fought back against that tyranny of Jim Crow apartheid to help create the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. During the 1970's, we saw Nixon. Yet, scholars and activists worked together to cause Nixon to be impeached, to allow the EPA to be passed, and to allow accountability in other arenas. Even today, we have some good news. In 2018, a record number of women, black people, other people of color, and Muslims being elected into Congress. In Tennessee, there is free community college and raised taxes for infrastructure. Tennessee is a mostly Republican state. The state of Nevada expanded voting rights and gun control.

My state of Virginia has both state legislatures not being majority Republican anymore. New Mexico has increased its minimum wage by 60 percent and increased spending by 11 percent. Teachers have been on strike in Virginia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina for robust educational changes. The public is definitely with these teachers. Many states are now fighting to end tough on crime policies to have alternatives that seek to help lives. These acts have been done by people from across the political spectrum. So, good news do exist, but we can't be naive. Real change is not easy. It is important to recognize and cherish our diversity in the United States of America. Right now in 2020, most Americans under 18 are mostly people of color. In 30 years, most Americans will be mostly people of color. So, diversity is part of the American ideal. Diversity is part of our strength. The Golden Rule and the concept of everyone being born equal always ring true. We have to inspire the folks younger than us to continue in their journeys of the advocacy of the Dream. The Dream is meant for all of us prodigiously.




By Timothy