Some not-so-bad parts of 2017
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wear protective glasses as they view the solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Andrew Harnik
In many ways, 2017 has been another cliche — it’s been a roller coaster, a whirlwind, a madhouse, a clusterf… you get the point. It’s also been surprising in many ways, with unexpected twists and turns. Here are six of the sweet silver linings that helped keep our chins up and our eyes on the proverbial prize:
Blacks at the ballot box
In November, at least seven cities in America — even in the South — elected their first-ever Black mayors. Andrea Jenkins became the first Black transgender woman to be elected to public office when she won a Minneapolis City Council race. In Virginia, Justin Fairfax became the second African-American to be elected Lieutenant Governor, a position that has traditionally been a path to higher office. Voters in New Jersey chose Sheila Oliver as the state’s first African-American female lieutenant governor. Black voters — Black women, especially — turned a U.S. Senate seat blue in deep-red Alabama. It is becoming increasingly impossible to overlook the power of the Black vote.
Taking it to the streets
Activism continued to hold the spotlight throughout the year. In January, on the first full day of the new presidency, the Women’s March brought millions of people to their feet all over the world. Protests were held on all seven continents, and the Washington, D.C. iteration of the march was the largest single political demonstration since the anti–Vietnam War protests. And unlike many feminist movements, the Women’s March was deliberate about including women of color. Elsewhere, activism arose on Twitter with the rebirth of Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement and on TV screens across the country every Sunday as NFL players, coaches and others carried the torch that Colin Kaepernick lit in 2016.
Locally, social justice advocacy groups relentlessly and peacefully pursued justice after Indianapolis police shot and killed Aaron Bailey. Though no charges were filed in the case, the chief of the department has recommended termination of the two involved officers. Organizers with DON’T SLEEP and Indy10 were watching the investigation closely, and they made sure city leaders knew it, all the while uplifting Bailey’s family. Their efforts were (and continue to be) inspiring.
Black blockbusters
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut “Get Out” — a social satire that evolves into a terrifying nightmare — quickly racked up a list of accomplishments, becoming the highest-grossing debut for a writer-director based on an original screenplay and the second highest-grossing R-rated horror film ever, while earning Peele the distinction of becoming the first Black writer-director with a $100-million film debut. Beyond the numbers, Peele’s story sparked important conversations about cultural appropriation, micro-aggressions and other ubiquitous — though often unnamed and, for many white people, unheard of — parts of the Black experience. Other Black highlights on the silver screen include “Moonlight” taking home Best Picture at the Oscars, and “Girls Trip” being one of the most successful summer films and the highest-grossing comedy of 2017.
Grammys so Black
Black entertainment domination wasn’t limited to movies. The nominations are in, and for the first time ever, no white men are nominated for the coveted Grammy Album of the Year award. This time around, four Black men — Donald Glover (Childish Gambino), Jay-Z, Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar — and one woman (Lorde) are vying for the title. Jay-Z leads the Grammy pack overall, with eight nominations. Not too far behind, Lamar has seven noms, and Mars has six. Those who scored five nominations were Black acts, including Childish Gambino, SZA, Khalid and No I.D. The 2018 Grammy Awards take place in New York City on Jan. 28.
Robert E. Lee? Boy, bye
Confederate monuments honoring Gen. Robert E. Lee and other Civil War-era figures came down across the nation. In some cases, it was the result of government intervention, like in Baltimore, where Mayor Catherine Pugh ordered the removal of four monuments to the Confederacy. In other cases, like in Durham, North Carolina, protesters pulled statues from their stoops. Just last week, two Confederate statues in Memphis — one of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis and one of Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest — came down after nonprofit Memphis Greenspace (which has a Black man at the helm) purchased the parks from the city. Regardless of the method, the removal of these monuments from public lands was way overdue.
Solar eclipse mania
Though not specifically a moment of Black excellence, the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, dubbed “The Great American Eclipse” by some media outlets, was a much-needed moment of beauty and unity in an otherwise tumultuous year. Excitement built for weeks leading up to the event, as people gathered their glasses and marked their calendars. All over the country, jubilant crowds gathered in parks, on rooftops and wherever they happened to be, to turn their eyes toward the sky and focus on something much bigger than themselves. People cheered. Some cried. Many embraced. It was cathartic, it was awe-inspiring and it was a gift.
The dark side of 2017
Veronica Hartfield, wife of Las Vegas police officer Charleston Hartfield, embraces son Ayzayah Hartfield during a candlelight memorial for the officer, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Las Vegas. Hartfield was killed when Stephen Craig Paddock broke windows on the Mandalay Bay resort and casino and began firing with a cache of weapons at a country music festival Sunday. (AP Photo/John Locher)
John Locher
Due to a changing political climate and an increase in hate-based violence, many Americans (especially women, people of color and members of other vulnerable groups) entered 2017 with uncertainty. It looks like we will have to keep fighting against the dark side well into 2018, because while America managed to avoid entering World Word III, the year has shown many that their fears were justified.
Here are the top stories that highlight the dark side of 2017:
Mass shootings on the rise
On Oct. 1, a gunman opened fire on a group of concertgoers at a country music festival in Las Vegas, sparking debates about gun control and the definition of terrorism. One thing that’s not up for debate is the fact that mass shootings have become more frequent and more deadly. The massacre in Las Vegas alone killed 58, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 300 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2017. One of their listed shootings took place in Indianapolis and resulted in four injuries.
Hate groups take off their hoods
The number of active hate groups in the United States rose dramatically after President Barack Obama’s election in 2008, and hate group affiliation has continued to skyrocket under President Donald Trump. Even though Hoosiers have seen local reports of KKK recruitment flyers being left on lawns around Indiana, many were still shocked to see the hoods come off during the “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August. The rally left one person dead and 19 others injured and sparked a much-needed conversation about the state of race relations in America, including why those who once felt the need to hide are now bold enough to show their faces.
Trump’s Twitter wars
“I know words, I have the best words,” Trump proudly proclaimed during his campaign, yet we continue to watch the president use them to bully and belittle anyone he disagrees with. Many of Trump’s most startling comments have been posted to his Twitter account. In his tweets, he has suggested revoking the broadcast licenses of networks that critique him and has attacked his former presidential campaign rival. He has also used terms such as “clown,” “low class slob” and “dummy dope.”
Violent crime rampant in Indianapolis
The number of lives lost due to homicide continues to rise year after year in Indianapolis. As of Dec. 21, the number of homicides had risen to 151, exceeding last year’s count of 150. On Dec. 11, Mayor Joe Hogsett announced a new initiative that he hopes will throttle those numbers in 2018. The plan includes hiring more officers and increasing funding for neighborhood outreach.
Internet under attack
Network neutrality was all about preserving the freedom and openness of the internet by preventing network owners from halting, slowing and tampering with the transfer of data or restricting access to content and services online. On Dec. 14, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality rules, and many Americans are worried that the free spread of information is under attack. This fear is not unwarranted, as there have been multiple documented examples of network providers engaging in content or user discrimination. According to the ACLU, AOL has blocked emails that mentioned dearaol.com, and BellSouth has blocked access to myspace.com in certain states. The elimination of net neutrality protection opens the door for data discrimination by internet service providers.
Natural disasters devastate families
From Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria sweeping through the Caribbean and U.S. Gulf Coast, to earthquakes in Mexico City and the Iraq-Iran border killing almost 1,000 people total, 2017 had its share of natural disasters. Though water and electricity have been restored to many, but not all, residents, the communities hit are still in recovery mode. In November, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló stated that recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria could cost $94.4 billion.
2017
