Analysis | Black History Month 2022: reflecting on the past year

Turning points for the Black community over the last year include feats like the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday and Oscar nominations for stand-out content from Black creators. Illustration by KAITA PANNOR, Illustrator

Though Black History Month 2022 may be drawing to a close, there remains no shortage of reasons to celebrate the expansive accomplishments of the Black community. The Panther compiled some of the most groundbreaking moments to occur over the last year for Black Americans, from politics to entertainment.

Government acknowledges role in Tulsa Race Massacre on 100th anniversary

On the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre — a violent, white supremacist attack on a predominantly Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the U.S. government finally acknowledged its role in the horrific murder of over 300 Black Americans and burning of Black-owned businesses, homes and churches. The decades ensuing the 1921 massacre plagued the neighborhood of Greenwood with financial obstacles and deep-rooted racial inequities.

“The Federal Government must reckon with and acknowledge the role that it has played in stripping wealth and opportunity from Black communities,” President Joe Biden said in his May 31 briefing.

Biden proclaimed May 31, 2021 to be a “Day of Remembrance: 100 Years After The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.”

Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday

Biden signed a law June 17, 2021 officially recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, making it the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983. The day serves to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. and is observed June 19.

“(Juneteenth) is a day of profound weight and profound power, a day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take,” Biden said after signing the bill.

Despite lacking formal recognition from the U.S. government, Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black Americans since 1865, when troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to begin ensuring the freedom of any enslaved people.

Debut of “Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” brings never-before-seen footage to screen

After spending the last 53 years in relative obscurity, the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival 一 a series of six free concerts that has since been called “Black Woodstock” for its massive crowds and star performers 一 has finally been propelled into popular culture with the July 2021 release of “Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).” By featuring a plethora of never-before-seen footage of the festival, audiences are allowed an opportunity to see this long-overlooked moment in Black history unfold before their very eyes. 

The documentary marks the directorial debut of “Saturday Night Live” drummer Ahmir Khalib Thompson, more commonly known as Questlove. However, after opening at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, the film instantly attracted critical acclaim and was rewarded with the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Documentary category.

“For me, I still got immersed and baptized in musical education without having a Woodstock of my own to claim,” Questlove told Documentary Magazine when discussing the intention behind his work. “But I always wondered, if this (original concert) film were given the greenlight to be just as brilliant as it could have been, what a difference that would have made in the lives of young musicians such as myself, who really didn’t have musical documents growing up.

More recently, “Summer of Soul” was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Academy Awards.

“King Richard” scores five Oscar nominations following theatrical release

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s November 2021 release, “King Richard,” illustrates the family dynamic of professional tennis players Venus and Serena Williams with their father, Richard Williams, who also functions as their coach. Singer-songwriter Beyoncé recorded the single “Be Alive” for the biographical drama — which not only racked up over 6 million listens on Spotify of its own accord — but serves to reinforce the film’s underlying message of Black empowerment.

Alongside accolades from a bevy of other award shows, the film received six Academy Award nominations Feb. 8,  including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing and Best Original Song. 

Sisters Serena and Venus Williams both worked as executive producers on the film in addition to having their stories shared on screen. However, the narrative primarily centers around Richard Williams, played by Will Smith; Serena Williams told the Associated Press this kind of recognition of her father is long overdue.

“It’s so good to see a Black man on film with their story being told in the right way,” Serena Williams said. “For so many years, my dad’s story has been told through the lens of someone that’s white. Now, we get to see what the truth is.” 

Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson nominated to become first Black woman on Supreme Court

After Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the Supreme Court, announced he would be stepping down from his role Jan. 27, Biden found himself confronted with the opportunity to nominate a new replacement. Biden confirmed the new candidate Feb. 25 with his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

If she secures bipartisan support from the senate, Jackson will be the first Black woman to ever sit on the Supreme Court. The 51-year-old attorney currently works under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and has garnered a backing of liberals after she twice dismissed legal claims from former President Donald Trump’s administration.

“If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, I can only hope that my life, my love of this country and this Constitution and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans,” Jackson said, concluding her remarks on the nomination.