* Up to date as of August 22
A lot has happened since Kaleidoscope’s last edition in April, and we want to help you keep up with everything that has been going on.
A global, deadly pandemic has wrecked our nation, there is country-wide civil unrest following George Floyd’s, Breonna Taylor’s and many other’s murder by police, the economy had its biggest crash since 1987, we are facing an upcoming election and even Mother Nature seems to be against us.
While we can’t break down everything that has happened in the past five months, here is a brief overlook of some of the major moments that happened while we were gone.
March
March 13: Ala. Gov. Kay Ivey issues a state of emergency for Alabama due to COVID-19.
March 13: Breonna Taylor was shot by police eight times in her own home.
March 16: Stock market has the worst drop since 1987 amid COVID-19 fears
March 18: UAB announces students will not return to campus for the remainder of the Spring 2020 Semester.
March 19: Gov. Ivey issues state-wide health order, prohibiting gatherings of more than 25 people or any group that cannot keep six feet apart, closing all state beaches and banning any “on-site consumption” of food or drink in any restaurants or bars.
March 27: Pres. Trump signs the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, making $2 trillion available in economic relief for those suffering from the impacts of COVID-19.
April
April 11: The first round of stimulus checks of $1,200 are sent out by the IRS to qualifying Americans.
April 13: First reports of protests against stay-at-home orders surface in Ohio and spread across the U.S.
April 28: U.S surpasses one million COVID-19 cases and 57,000 COVID-19-related deaths.
May
May 18: UAB announces gradual re-entry plan for Fall 2020 semester and details preventative measures that will be taken such as COVID-19 testing, symptom checks and social distancing.
May 25: George Floyd is killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, MN, who knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds while Floyd was already handcuffed and told the officers, “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times.
May 27: United States reaches 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths.
May 28: Video of George Floyd’s murder surfaces and quickly goes viral, leading to public outcry, protests and calls for police reform across the U.S. and other countries as well.
June
June 1: Birmingham Mayor Woodfin establishes an indefinite 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew after protests escalate.
June 1: Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument is removed from Linn Park in Birmingham after protestors tried to remove it by force.
June 1: First use of federal law enforcement officers to try to control and disband protestors in Washington D.C., leading to federal officers being sent to Portland, Kansas City, Seattle and several other cities where protests were not dying down.
June 10: Woodfin announces an in depth 30-day review of Birmingham police department practices and the formation of a community task force that will continue to review and monitor the department.
June 12: Rayshard Brooks, 27-years-old, was shot by police in Atlanta while in custody.
June 15: Supreme court rules that the federal civil-rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender workers.
June 16: Trump signs executive order on police reform, creating a database of police misconduct and new guidelines for the use of force.
June 17: Former police officer involved in Brooks’ death is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and murder.
June 30: MS Gov. Tate Reeves signs bill to retire offensive state flag.
July
July 10: Park Won-soon, mayor of Seoul, capital of South Korea, found dead in apparent suicide days after police launched an investigation regarding claims from a former secretary of sexual harassment.
July 15: Ala. Gov. Kay Ivey amends Safer at Home order to include a state-wide mask ordinance requiring a face mask to be worn in public.
July 22: Birmingham hospitals implement surge plan to convert waiting areas into bed space to make room for more COVID-19 patients.
July 29: Big tech owners Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook testify before Congress to answer questions regarding anti-competitive practices and claims about bias against conservatives.
July 31: Trump announces plans to ban the Chinese-owned video app TikTok from U.S., claiming it was a matter of national security.
August
August 4: Explosion at major port in Beirut, Lebanon kills more than 200 people with 110 still missing, leaves over 200,000 people homeless and causes damages worth about $3 billion.
August 9: U.S. reaches five million COVID-19 cases.
August 14: Wildfires surge in Northern CA, spreading over 771,000 acres in less than a week, leading to the evacuation of more than 64,000 people.
August 19: Democratic National Convention formally nominates Kamala Harris to run as Joe Biden’s vice president, making her the first black woman in U.S. history to have the position.
August 24: UAB Fall Semester starts with a combination of in class, online and hybrid course options.
