Year in Review 2021


 YEAR IN REVIEW 2021

INSURRECTION
On Jan. 6, rioters stormed Capitol Hill after a rally in
Washington, D.C. Some of those people were upset about
the results of the Presidential election and believed Democrats
stole the election.

INAUGURATION
On Jan. 20, Joe Biden was sworn-in as president and
Kamala Harris was sworn-in as vice president. Harris
made history as the first woman, Black person and Asian
serve as vice president.

COVID-19 VARIANTS
Delta and Omicron are the latest variants of COVID-19
that are raising concerns. People are being encouraged to
get COVID-19 vaccines and also get the booster shot, a
third dose of either Moderna or Pfizer.

COVID-19 VACCINES
While some of the first COVID-19 vaccines were rolled
out in December, people started to receive the vaccines in
2021. Even children as young as 5 can get the vaccine. Now,
people are being encouraged to receive their booster shot.

VERDICTS
Derrick Chauvin, former Minneapolis Police who murdered
George Floyd, was found guilty of Floyd’s murder
and sentenced to 22 ½ years in prison. As of press time,
Chauvin plead guilty to violating George Floyd’s civil
rights in federal court.

Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William ‘Roddie’
Bryan were found guilty of the murder of Ahmaud
Arbery. They are set to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2021.

PULLMAN
Pullman National Monument, located at 610 E. 111th
St., opened to the public. The site, operated by National
Park Service, is just one part of Pullman Historic, which
also includes the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum
and Historic Pullman Foundation Exhibition Hall.

TIMUEL BLACK
Timuel Black, beloved historian and civil rights leader,
passed away at 102 years old. The Alabama native who
lived in Hyde Park was instrumental in the election of
Chicago’s first Black mayor Harold Washington and he
was part of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Freedom Movement.

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle
Obama attended a groundbreaking of the Obama
Presidential Center, located in Jackson Park.

FIRSTS
In the South Suburbs, there were a number of firsts.
Tiffany Henyard, of Dolton, and Jada Curry, of Lynwood,
were the first Black women to be elected Mayor. Thaddeus
Jones was elected the first Black Mayor of Calumet City.

JETT’S LAW
Entrepreneur and mother Ida Nelson worked with State
Senator Mike Simmons on the Jett Hawkins Law after
Nelson’s son Gus “Jett” Hawkins was discriminated against
at school for wearing his hair in a braided hairstyle. The law
prohibits schools from discriminating hairstyles historically
associated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture, including,
protective hairstyles -- braids, locs and twists.

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