2020: A Black Girls Testimony
by Samantha Peltrau, Junior, iPreparatory Academy
by Samantha Peltrau, Junior, iPreparatory Academy
Image Credit: Building Bridges
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Black suffering is ubiquitous; videos of police brutality and violence have played on all forms of American media. The persecution of Black Americans has demonstrated that this “land of the free'' isn't, and has never been, completely free. Throughout 2020, the countless Black lives lost have incited rage and grief so cavernous and puissant that it has motivated dynamic progress in racial justice and equity.
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Police brutality was no unfamiliar subject, but the events of 2020 led to an unnerving awareness that I could be next. "But what were they doing?" "What were they wearing?" and "What about their past..." are some gaslighting responses that create conditions where racially motivated violence becomes an “ethical” choice. This cruelty reached a watershed in 2020 as Black people accounted for more than 20% of deaths caused by police despite being 13% of the U.S population (Tate, et. al.).
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In addition, socioeconomic factors have caused Covid-19 to disproportionately affect Black Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black people are 3.7x more likely to be hospitalized and 2.8x more likely to die by Covid-19 than our White counterparts (“COVID-19”). In May 2020, unemployment resulting from Covid-19, peaked at 16.8% for the Black community (Falk, et. al.). As of December 2020, almost 10% of the entire Black community was unemployed.
Nevertheless, Black people are determined to control their futures. Reconstruction saw a rise in Black leadership as thousands of Black Americans, including congressman Robert B. Elliott and Florida’s Secretary of State and Superintendent of Education Jonathan Gibbs, were voted into office in record numbers (Foner). |
Credit: GHLF
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Likewise, the future for Black America looks luminescent with fifty-seven Black Americans elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 including Missouri and Washington’s first Black Congresswomen Cori Bush and Marilyn Strickland, and the first openly gay Black men in Congress, Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres. In the 2020 election, Black votes were 11% of the total electorate votes due to organizations like the NAACP, Grassroots, Black Voters Matter Fund, and Fair Fight which encouraged a revolutionary change for Black Americans: your vote is powerful, use it (Stafford).
From the election of Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock to Megan Thee Stallion's Saturday Night Live performance, Black Americans have demonstrated exceptional perseverance. Billboard charting rapper Megan Thee Stallion used her SNL debut to declare: “We need to protect our black women, and love our black women, ’cause at the end of the day, we need our black women'' (Kreps). This bold rebuttal aimed at the Kentucky Attorney General’s decision to not charge Breonna Taylor’s murderers is one of many efforts to hold police officers who murdered Black people accountable, urging people across the world to “Protect Black Women'' in life and death.
Credit: LA Times
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Credit: NPR
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Though often underestimated, young adults who couldn’t vote in 2020 used their influence in other ways. As reported in Elle Magazine, Black young adults such as Thandiwe Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard; Sophie Ming, founder of the New York City Youth Collective; and Anya Dillard, creator of The Next Gen Come Up are a few of many teenagers organizing volunteers, protesters, and fundraisers, showcasing the capabilities of soon-to-be voters (Feller). My generation wields immense political influence, and I know that we will continue to pursue racial equality in this nation we declare as ours.
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The events of 2020 have struck fear in my heart, not only for my life, but for my Black family and friends. 2020 propelled my angst as my blackness felt like a death sentence, a one-way ticket to a miserable life in America. I learned that being Black isn’t at all cosmetic; to some, being Black made me a failed cause and a worthless human being. However, I also learned that I am a part of one hell of a community: a tough, indestructible, and never wavering diaspora descended from some of the most resolute human beings on Earth.
Black achievements in 2020 serve as a beacon of light guiding me towards 2021 and beyond. Not only have activists and politicians such as Stacey Abrams and Tamika Mallory fought for my right to be safe in the U.S., but so many of 2020s elected officials serve as proper Black representation-- I feel seen. |
My dreams and goals, my hopes and ambitions, all seem recognized, and I daresay, valued.
Works Cited
“COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death by Race/Ethnicity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 30 Nov 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html
Falk, Gene, et. al. “Unemployment Rates by Racial Group and Hispanic Ethnicity.” Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief,
Congressional Research Service, 12 Jan 2020, www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R46554.pdf
Foner, Eric. “Rooted in Reconstruction: The First Wave of Black Congressmen.” The Nation, 15 Oct 2008,
www.thenation.com/article/archive/rooted-reconstruction-first-wave-black-congressmen/
Feller, Madison. “These Teen Black Lives Matter Activists Are Writing The Future.” Elle Magazine, 20 Jul 2020,
www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a33329403/black-lives-matter-teen-activists/
Fondren, Precious. “Young Black Activists Are Leading the Movement for Black Lives.” Teen Vogue Magazine, 9 Jul 2020,
www.teenvogue.com/story/young-black-activists-faces-black-lives-matter
Kreps, Daniel. “‘SNL’: Megan Thee Stallion Slams Kentucky AG With ‘Savage’ Performance.” The Rolling Stone, 4 Oct 2020,
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/snl-megan-thee-stallion-savage-1070693/
Stafford, Kat, et al. “‘This is proof’: Biden’s win reveals power of Black voters.” Associated Press News, 9 Nov. 2020,
www.apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-virus-outbreak-georgia-7a843bbce00713cfde6c3fdbc2e31eb7
Tate, Julie, et al. “Fatal Force.” Police Shootings Database. The Washington Post, 26 Jan 2021,
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
“COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death by Race/Ethnicity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 30 Nov 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html
Falk, Gene, et. al. “Unemployment Rates by Racial Group and Hispanic Ethnicity.” Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief,
Congressional Research Service, 12 Jan 2020, www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R46554.pdf
Foner, Eric. “Rooted in Reconstruction: The First Wave of Black Congressmen.” The Nation, 15 Oct 2008,
www.thenation.com/article/archive/rooted-reconstruction-first-wave-black-congressmen/
Feller, Madison. “These Teen Black Lives Matter Activists Are Writing The Future.” Elle Magazine, 20 Jul 2020,
www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a33329403/black-lives-matter-teen-activists/
Fondren, Precious. “Young Black Activists Are Leading the Movement for Black Lives.” Teen Vogue Magazine, 9 Jul 2020,
www.teenvogue.com/story/young-black-activists-faces-black-lives-matter
Kreps, Daniel. “‘SNL’: Megan Thee Stallion Slams Kentucky AG With ‘Savage’ Performance.” The Rolling Stone, 4 Oct 2020,
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/snl-megan-thee-stallion-savage-1070693/
Stafford, Kat, et al. “‘This is proof’: Biden’s win reveals power of Black voters.” Associated Press News, 9 Nov. 2020,
www.apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-virus-outbreak-georgia-7a843bbce00713cfde6c3fdbc2e31eb7
Tate, Julie, et al. “Fatal Force.” Police Shootings Database. The Washington Post, 26 Jan 2021,
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/