Black history is being made each day and cannot be relegated to the shortest month of the year just because it was determined that February is when we as a country should celebrate Black History Month. With that in mind, it is all but a given that Black history will continue being made throughout this year and well beyond.
Here are three of the many ways that Black history is expected to continue being made in 2020.
On Election Day
After seeing a failed impeachment and the president revel in his seeming untouchability, it is — once again — left up to Black folks to take care of the business that elected officials could not. There is no shortage of motivation for Black voters to turn out in record droves on Election Day to make their voices heard at the ballot box to evict the current occupant of the White House.
We’ve seen Black voters in action in record numbers for urgent matters before — namely in 2008 when an upstart candidate Barack Obama captivated the country and encouraged them to cast ballots at a rate that had never been seen before. But also during the 2018 midterm elections in Alabama when Black women made sure accused pedophile Roy Moore didn’t win his bid for U.S. Senate.
After the 2016 election prompted many Americans to stay home, giving the country the current president, it would be a no-brainer for Black folks to once again lead the way to the polls to elect a new commander in chief.
In Theaters
Marsai Martin is continuing her domination of Hollywood and proving that her age is nothing but a number. The 15-year-old star of the “Black-Ish” sitcom has taken her talents behind the camera, as well. She is poised to produce a comedy called “Queen,” which would be created through her production company Genius Productions and released under Universal.
She already made history by becoming the youngest executive producer in Hollywood and her film “Little,” which starred Regina Hall and Issa Rae, garnered $40.6 million at the U.S. box office. Now she’s set to do the same as a producer for “Queen,” showing that the sky’s the limit for the budding media mogul who is expected to continue making TV and movie history this year.
The NFL will hire more Black coaches
This one isn’t necessarily assured for obvious reasons. But considering the negative public relations nightmare, the NFL has endured over the past few years for its attitude toward players protesting police violence against Black people, chances are that it will finally begin to hire more Black head coaches.
The injection of Jay-Z into the NFL’s larger discourse surrounding social justice should also increase the likelihood that the pro football league gets at least one more Black head coach in addition to three existing ones.
Adding more Black head coaches will be historic on a number of levels, not least of which is the fact that it would reflect the league’s players who are mostly made up of Black people.
