The beginning of 2020 has seemed like the longest year yet. And we’re only a few weeks in! There’s been a lot of awful things that have already happened over the past month or so that can really make the world seem like a bad place. However, I feel like it’s important to look back to 2019 and see the good things that have happened and will continue into 2020 and the future.
- Lori Lightfoot
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Lori Lightfoot became the first black female mayor of Chicago in April of 2019. Not only is she the first mayor of her kind, but the first openly gay leader of Chicago. She is the first female mayor since Jane Byrne held the position in 1983.
- Morehouse Student Debt Payoff
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At the commencement of Morehouse University’s 2019 graduation ceremony, Robert F. Smith pledged to pay off each student’s debt. Smith is the richest black man in U.S. history and paying off each graduating student’s debt will help these students live more feasible lives.
- CROWN Act
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California became one of the first states to ban workplace discrimination against natural hair. In July of 2019, the California State Assembly signed into law the CROWN act. Employees and students are now able to wear locs, afros, cornrows, etc. to work and school without the fear of suspension or termination.
- Greta Thunberg
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As the youngest activist to be named TIME’s Person of the Year, Greta Thunberg made a huge impact on climate change activism. She made headlines by sailing to New York from Sweden by herself so that she could speak at the United Nation’s Climate Action Summit about the change that needs to occur so that the world may be here for future generations.
- All-Female Space Walk
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In October 2019, astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir became for the first all-female spacewalk in NASA’s history. NASA was first founded in 1958, however, women weren’t allowed to join until 1987.
- U.S. Women’s Soccer
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The United States Women’s National Soccer team won its fourth World Cup championship in the summer of 2019. Not only is this a huge feat for women’s sports in the United States, but it also brought a new spotlight to the wage gap and gender inequality between men’s and women’s sports.
Even though there are difficult and disturbing things that happen throughout the year, there’s always going to be some good that comes from it. Being able to look back on 2019 and see the positive and wonderful things that happened makes me hopeful that it will continue into the rest of 2020.