Ten best events of 2020
Editor’s note: Despite the pandemic and economic crisis, 2020 was not all bad. In the midst of crisis, people rose up to demand a better world. Here are a few good moments.
1. In February, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted for sexual assault and rape, resulting in a sentence of 23 years in prison. The #MeToo movement, started by Tarana Burke in 2006, took on another life in the film industry, leading to the downfall of Weinstein and others.
2. Black Lives Matter uprising. Remarkable for its breadth of support, the BLM protests reached cities and towns across the country throughout the summer and fall.
3. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s eloquent rebuke to misogynist and Republican Congressman Ted Yoho on July 23.
4. Bea Lumpkin casts her vote against fascism in October. The story of the 102-year-old activist mailing her ballot went viral.
5. Election in Bolivia. The Movement Toward Socialism Party (MAS) won 53% of the vote in the first round of the elections, reversing the 2019 right-wing coup. Evo Morales returned from exile in early November.
6. The voter uprising brought record turnout and newly registered voters, including young people, African Americans, and Latinos.
7. Defeat of Trump.
8. The COVID-19 vaccine, first administered on December 14. More vaccines are coming, bringing hope to the world.
9. Community COVID solidarity. With a nationwide plan to defeat COVID-19 virtually nonexistent, mutual aid efforts popped up in communities everywhere.
10. Socialism’s best performance versus COVID-19: Cuba, Vietnam, China, and Kerala State in India.
Plus one more: 2,000 new CP members, and growing!
Images: Top, Black Lives Matter, Anthony Quintano (CC BY 2.0); #MeToo, Sharon Brogan (BY-NC 2.0); BLM protest, David Geitgey Sierralupe (CC BY 2.0); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Matt Johnson (CC BY 2.0); Bea Lumpkin, Chicago Teachers Union (People’s World); Bolivia president Luis Arce (Granma); Voters in line, Eden, Janine and Jim (CC BY 2.0); End of an error, Amaury Laporte (CC BY 2.0); COVID vaccine, VCU Capital News Service (CC BY-NC 2.0); Mutual aid, Long Beach YCL; Cuban doctor, Cuba inside the World.