Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 1-7-22

Feature
2021 Was A Year Of Transition
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
2021 began with hopeful- ness because a new president had been elected in 2020, who chose a Black female Vice President. However, the COVID pandemic was still rag- ing with high numbers of deaths, hospital bed shortages and the health care industry being challenged like never be- fore.
Locally, here are some of the events reported on during the year:
January 2021: Americans watched in disbelief as sup- porters of President Trump and white supremacists breeched the Capitol in the middle of the Presidential election certification. U. S. Senators and representatives were rushed to safe places while the dangerous and un- ruly crowd of insurgents raged through the building, destroy- ing property, and making vio- lent threats against
Democratic leaders and Re- publican Vice President Mike Pence. Many were filmed making threats of bodily harm and attacking a policeman.
February 2021: For the fifth time, Tampa hosted the most prestigious football game of the year – The Super Bowl. On February 7, 2021, the National Football League’s AFC champions Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in the 55th Super Bowl. The celebration and game were dif- ferent, because the country was still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic and vac- cines were not available to everyone. The seating was lim- ited to only 22,000 fans, and the traditional events held during Super Bowl week were significantly reduced. COVID dilemma and all, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought joy to its city and made history by being the only team to win the
Super Bowl in its own sta- dium.
March 2021: 2 COVID vaccines were rolled out. In our community, there were concerns about the disparity in vaccine distribution. Dr. Kevin Sneed, an associate V.P. and dean at USF Health, compiled information from the City of Tampa Health De- partment after the initial roll out. Dr. Sneed’s research showed that 959,989 whites had received both shots, while only 72,584 Blacks had re- ceived both shots. The shock- ing numbers led to elected officials and the health de- partment to make the vaccine more accessible.
April 2021: Hillsborough County had been without one of the bastions of civil rights in America, an affiliate of the Na- tional Urban League since 2006. In 2021, a local group achieved reinstatement from the national office of the or- ganization.
May 2021: Hillsborough County School system ran into financial difficulties as a re- serve fund required by the
state was underfunded. The School Board approved a fi- nancial recovery package that had to be in place by May 12, 2021. Superintendent Ad- dison Davis, who faced criti- cism for his management style at the time, delivered the news that $24 million in federal money from the COVID relief package would be used to re- plenish a reserve fund re- quired by the state.
June 2021: State Sena- tor Darryl Rouson visited the Sentinel office to discuss his 2021 legislative initiatives. With census-driven redistrict- ing coming in March 2022, Senator Rouson discussed his plan to keep his options open for his political future. However, he outlined plans for urban architecture, changes to motor vehicle insurance, a task force to examine the achieve- ment gap for boys, mental health reform, abandoned cemeteries, and police reform.
July 2021: Plans for the Skills Center Collaborative, a
55,000 square foot state of the art facility in East Tampa, were revealed. The new facil- ity, located at 5107 N. 22nd Street, Tampa, FL 33610, will facilitate the Skills Center’s new innovative joint venture aimed at leveling the playing field in education, health, and workforce readiness for under- served Tampa youths.
July was also the month that the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. held its national conclave in Tampa bringing new business oppor- tunities and tourist dollars.
2021: the Olympics were a pleasant di- version from daily life. Tampa had a lot to celebrate during the Tokyo Olympics. Hillsbor- ough High’s Erriyon Knighton, the youngest member of the U.S. men’s track team at 17, won his semi- final before placing fourth with a time of 19.93 in the
August
200m final.
Gabby Thomas, whose aunt, and uncle are local cou- ple, Jeffrey and Yolanda Amos, competed in the
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