1
Those of us who suffer from racial amnesia were given a wake up call after the George Zimmerman trial verdict came down in July. Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin.
2
And the Bonnie and Clyde of the Year Award goes to … Sandi and Jesse Jackson Jr. In February 2013, the couple pled guilty to federal charges: his stemmed from the misuse of campaign funds and hers for tax fraud. As a result, each received time in the clinker.
3
Former Food Network chef Paula Deen cooked up quite the controversy when she, after being named in a discrimination lawsuit, admitted to using the N-word in her past. The result: the loss of endorsement deals and a pulled plug on her cable TV shows.
4
When the Boston Marathon bombing occurred on April 15, many of us couldn’t help but wonder how many Black people were injured. Turns out, quite a few. Most notably, Mery Daniel, 31, became the face of survival as she recovered from losing one leg and suffered severe injury to the other. Mery, we see you, sista. God bless.
5
While many of our favorite celebs were busy dropping new music and wrapping projects, some took on new challenges in 2013: changing diapers, making bottles and painting nurseries. Couples such as Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose; Monica and Shannon Brown; and AJ and Dionne Calloway caught baby fever. Perhaps the most famous of the new babies is little Miss North West, daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
6
To strike or not to strike? That was the major question for President Barack Obama as he contemplated how to handle Syria’s alleged use and possession of chemical weapons during what the United Nations describes as a civil war.
7
New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg lost a huge battle in August when a judge ruled the city’s stop-and-frisk policy as unconstitutional to minorities. Judge Shira A. Scheindlin said police resorted to a “policy of indirect racial profiling” based on perception of suspicious activity.
8
FLOTUS is arguably one of the most powerful women in the world, and her Let’s Move! campaign along with a push for healthier lifestyles have be-
come national initiatives. Even so, we somehow became transfixed by the first lady’s hair, more specifically, her bangs. In a world rife with calamity, Michelle Obama’s bangs gave us a lovely (temporary) distraction.
9
This was a banner year for Black movies: The Butler, Fruitvale Station, 12 Years a Slave, Baggage Claim, The Best Man Holiday, A Madea Christmas and Black Nativity. At a time when drivel infiltrates our cultural narrative, it was good to see that a few filmmakers accurately portrayed us and made the most of our talent.
10
August 28 marked the 50-year anniversary of the historic March on Washington. In commemoration, thousands gathered at the Lincoln Memorial—where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his original “I Have a Dream” speech—to hear heart-stirring, empowering words from President Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker.
