2020. A year where several bad things occurred. Things we didn’t even think would occur. Though such events happen, we still will remember these events for the rest of our lives. Being covered in this article, is a recap of 2020, with one event being discussed for each month of 2020, a year no one wants to revisit.
On January 26, a helicopter holding nine people, two of whom were Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, crashed and led to the death of all the passengers. The helicopter crash occurred near Calabasas, California, and police suspect that the helicopter crashed due to very foggy conditions during the flight. #rememberkobe
In February, the first American citizen died of the coronavirus on the 8th. After two flights evacuated US citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, an announcement was made hours later about the first American death from COVID.
On the day of March 22, Japan claims that the 2020 Olympics will still continue regardless of COVID. However, both Canada and Australia announced that they would not send their athletes until the international annual sporting event is postponed. The very next day, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) stated that the 2020 Olympics would be postponed to the summer of 2021.
In April, there were speculations being made of Kim Jong Un. These speculations were about whether or not Kim Jong Un was dead or in a minimally conscious state after undergoing heart surgery. On April 27, South Korea stated that Kim Jong Un was “alive and well”. However, North Korea did not respond to these speculations, so the state of Kim Jong Un was unknown. Though, he did make an appearance at a May Day celebration on May 2nd.
On the 25th of May, 46-year-old George Floyd was arrested and murdered by four Minneapolis police officers. He was arrested for counterfeit currency, then pinned to the ground by Derek Chauvin, one of the four officers fired after the case. After telling Chauvin continuously “I can’t breathe” and “please”, George Floyd lost consciousness after about seven minutes. Floyd was then rushed to a hospital, where he was announced deceased (For more information, visit https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html).
This event led to the George Floyd protests, a series of protests that carried on into June for the sake of black rights. #blacklivesmatter
China passed the national security law discussed in late May, on June 30. This law bypassed Hong Kong’s legislation and declared “treason, secession, sedition, and subversion” against the central government illegal. This bill allows officials from mainland China to cooperate with Hong Kong in order to cease the protests and to arrest several protesters who violate this new bill.
On July 20, due to the security law that was passed in June, the UK suspended the extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Ten days later, on July 30th, four students were arrested due to China’s new controversial security law. These students were promoting protests by creating slogans as well as banners online. They were arrested for “inciting secession” on social media, which was declared illegal by Hong Kong’s new controversial security law.
One very well known actor in the US passed away in the month of August. Chadwick Boseman was at the age of 43 when he passed away from stage four colon cancer in his home on the 28th. Even though he was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2016, he persevered through four years, in the fear of not knowing when his time would come, and brought us several movies, the most renowned being the 2018 movie from Marvel Studios, the Black Panther. #wakandaforever
On the 29th of September, the 2020 presidential debate begins, featuring President Donald J. Trump, as well as presidential candidate Joe Biden. This is the very first debate, and it referred to the situations of voting fraud, climate change, and the pandemic of COVID-19. As expected, there was a back and forth conflict between President Trump and Joe Biden during the debate, one being interrupted by the other.
Holding very surprising news on October 2, President Trump and his wife Melania Trump both tested positive for COVID-19. He showed mild COVID-19 symptoms, including fever and congestion. However, when he was transferred from a hospital to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump’s medical team informed him that he would be undergoing a procedure to treat COVID. This treatment included a steroid supposedly reserved for severe COVID cases, and ensured a quick recovery for President Trump.
In November, it was projected that in the US Presidential Debate between President Trump and candidate Joe Biden, Joe Biden would win the election. Details and evidence from several news sources state that Biden had 279 electoral votes, while Trump only had 214. Because of this, President Trump accused Biden of voter fraud. Furthermore, on November 20, Trump met with lawmakers from Michigan to further support his claim on voter fraud in the election. However, these lawmakers stated that they found no evidence of such acts, which put Biden one step closer towards officially becoming president.
December 1 marks the one year anniversary of COVID-19 when the people first showed symptoms of the virus. On December 21, the US officially exceeded 18 million cases of the virus, as well as a 319,000 death count, according to Johns Hopkins University. On December 14, the death toll was only 300,000, but in 7 days, it climbed by 19,000 deaths.
This concludes only the minority of events that occurred in 2020 since not all the events of 2020 were discussed in this article. In recalling the events of 2020, one can only hope to see better things in 2021, whether it is the thought of not having to fear COVID, to having your favorite celebrities pass away. What we as a society can only do is to sit back and watch awaits us in 2020.