2020: A year for the record books!
75 cents
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C
THURSDAY, December 31, 2020
Volume 47, Number 15
THE CHRONICLE
What can be said about
2020?
It has been a year of
firsts. Just imagine the
year 1918 riddled with
the Spanish Flu, but
branded with modern day
technology. And there you
have it, 2020.
2020 started out as
most years, with high
hopes of new beginnings
and resolutions. The 20th
annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Prayer Breakfast
brought the charge to
“cling to King’s dream.”
We had no idea how much
that would be tested during
the year. Late in January,
it soon took a strange turn
with the death of Kobe
Bryant. The helicopter
crash that killed Bryant,
his daughter and eight
others shocked the world.
February arrived
with rumblings of the
novel coronavirus and
the celebration of Black
History Month. The'
second month of the year
would prove to have the
last of in-person events
and gatherings.
The 2020 election
primaries introduced
March of 2020. We saw
those who were vying for
the community’s support to
represent its people. There
were not many surprises
in the local races, but
COVID-19 was beginning
to make a name for itself.
Panic buying left us with
empty shelves and scarce
provisions. Toilet paper
became rare and expensive
and masks turned out to
be the newest wardrobe
additions. On top of that,
sports began to disappear
from our TV screens and
those in their senior year
of school began to realize
it wasn’t going to be a
traditional senior year with
its usual celebrations and
festivities
In April, words like
stay-at-home order
and quarantine made
their way into everyday
conversations and a new
normal became inevitable.
With many businesses
closed, people began to
feel the economic weight
of the virus. The federal
government issued
stimulus checks to help
boost the economy, yet
Downtown Winston-
Salem began to look like
a ghost town and schools
moved to online platforms.
Early in May, the city’s
beloved Mayor Pro Tempe
Vivian Burke died, leaving
an empty seat on the city
council. Only a few weeks
later, another Winston-
Salem giant, Larry
Womble, passed away.
We started to see more
drive-through and drive-up
events, as businesses and
organizations pivoted to
www.wschronicle.com
adhere to CDC guidelines
but remain operational.
Before the end of May,
America saw the murder
of George Floyd and
began to hear the horrid
details of the deaths
of Ahmad Arbery and
Breonna Taylor. Despite
the pandemic, people went
to the streets in protests
and launched some of the
most aggressive anti-racist
movements in modern
history.
Because of the racial
backdrop, June brought
a new resurgence of
Juneteenth celebrations,
while many Black people
questioned their place in
a society that considered
their lives expendable. The
hashtag #saytheirname
permeated social media
and news articles around
the country.
COVID and racial
tensions nearly canceled
the July 4th holiday, as
“blackout days” surfaced
as a way to protest racial
injustices by withholding
Black dollars. “Buy Black”
became a plea when
many Black flea markets
popped up all over town,
highlighting businesses
owned and operated by
African Americans.
August brought the
hard decisions of whether
going back to school and
universities would return
in-person or virtually.
In Forsyth County,
Superintendent Flairston
and the school board chose
Plan C, which was a hybrid
of virtual and in-person
classes. COVID numbers
were steadily rising. We
also saw local community
leaders form “peace
walks” in order to curtail
the uptick in gun violence.
In addition, Ronnie Long
(a story The Chronicle has
been reporting for nearly
18 months) was freed
after spending 44 years in
prison for a crime he did
not commit.
In September, President
Donald Trump held a
rally at Smith Reynolds
Airport, with opposition
for his job as commander-
in-chief, but mainly for
his distain and disregard
of the seriousness of
COVID and wearing face
coverings. Winston-Salem
also mourned the loss of
the “community’s coach,”
Coach Art Blevins.
In October, we
celebrated the 103rd
birthday of Virginia
Newell. In her Chronicle
interview, she rallied for
the “Get Out and Vote”
campaign. All things
Election 2020 took over
our news and political
analysis. Residents turned
out in record numbers
for early voting, amid the
confusion of mail-in and
absentee ballots. And
lo and behold, Trump
contracted the coronavirus.
He continued to downplay
its severity while receiving
the best care available (but
not so available for others.)
The November 3rd
Election Day came and
went with no clear winner
for days. The winner may
not have been clear on the
national stage, but Forsyth
County sent out a clarion
call that Joe Biden was
our candidate of choice.
The Trump Administration
launched a slew of lawsuits
claiming the election was
rigged and the presidency
was stolen from him.
Yet, Thanksgiving came
with a COVID warning,
asking families to have
limited celebrations and
the number of coronavirus
cases and deaths rose to
record numbers.
December rolled in
with more record-breaking
days for COVID, but
soon the Pfizer vaccine
was approved and was
being administered to
frontline workers and
the elderly. Yet news
of a more resistant and
contagious strand of the
virus had government and
health officials cautioning
families to have Christmas
via virtual avenues in
hopes of avoiding even
more disturbing numbers
going into the 2021.
2020 came with a three-
prong pitchfork: COVID,
racial injustice, and the
general election. To put it
mildly, it has been a year
for the record books!
Let’s remain hopeful
that 2021 comes with less
drama.
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