The year 2020 began with the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump on Jan. 16. At the same time, a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was emerging in Wuhan, China, potentially stemming from a wild animal sold at market.
Romelia Navarro, 64, weeps while hugging her husband, Antonio, in his final moments in a COVID-19 unit at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Calif., on July 31, 2020.
The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States on Jan. 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases grew exponentially in the first few months causing Dallas College to move to online classes following spring break. With a lack of national leadership, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins issued a “stay home, stay safe’ directive to “flatten the curve” of illness at area hospitals.
President Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Feb. 5 and was criticized for his lack of response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed the virus would dissipate by Easter Sunday [April 12] but that didn’t happen. By May, Governor Greg Abbott began reopening the Texas economy and Dallas County Community College graduation was held online. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was the keynote speaker. DCCCD transitioned to Dallas College in May, with one name for the seven campuses and a restructuring of the administration.
Protests in Dallas on Memorial Day.
In June, a bystander’s video captured the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police. Protests broke out across the country and around the world in an international cry for racial justice. Confederate monuments fell in cities across the country and athletes “took a knee” for social change.
In July, civil rights icon, Representative John Lewis (D-GA) lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Lewis was eulogized by three former presidents and others who called upon young Americans to continue the work of fighting injustice.
The Asian “murder hornets” arrived in Washington in August. The giant bees posed the most danger to honeybees. Wildfires ravaged California, destroying millions of acres and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) was chosen to join Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as vice president on the national ticket.
Bidwell Bar Bridge, Oroville, CA Sept. 9.
September saw the death of another American icon. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a fierce defender of women’s rights, died of pancreatic cancer. Senate Republicans quickly approved, by a 51-48 vote, the nomination of conservative Amy Coney Barrett to the high court.
The Texas State Fair, a long-standing tradition in Dallas, was held as a drive-through event as the coronavirus continued to tear through the population. The remains of a 20-year-old soldier who had been missing for months from Fort Hood were uncovered. Her murder was allegedly committed by another soldier at the base.
NBA basketball took place in a bubble and the Dallas Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. And then, the president and First Lady announced they had tested positive for COVID-19.
Sen. Harris and President-Elect Biden.
Early voting got underway in November and Joe Biden became the president elect. Not one to give up without a fight, Trump claimed election fraud and demanded multiple recounts in the battleground states. Even with the recounts, Biden continued to win both the popular and Electoral College votes. Despite his public claims, Trump lost numerous cases in court due to lack of evidence. At press time, the Supreme Court rejected his last-gasp bid to reverse the vote in Pennsylvania.
A tornado hit Arlington days before Thanksgiving and the cases of coronavirus continued to the rise across America with a record high 200,000 cases per day. But there is hope on the horizon. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a vaccine in upcoming days.
