The Time magazine may have given 2020 the most appropriate name: “The Worst Year Ever” (Zacharek). This past year has been one of the most historic years in US history. From a shocking pandemic to the chaotic and seemingly never-ending controversial 2020 election to the spotlight shone on social justice issues, the year has been one for the books. The main causes of this unforgettable year that could be placed in a “this moment in history” starter pack are notably the historic rise of mental health issues as a byproduct of COVID-19, the progression of the 2020 election, and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. Undoubtedly, this moment in time will be something future students will learn about in history books for a long time to come. 

COVID-19 and its impact on mental health is a driving factor in the historical significance of this past year. Let’s take a trip back in time. It is January 21st of 2020. The news gets turned on, and there the newscaster is, announcing the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States (“A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020”). It’s nonchalantly brushed off. This won’t be a big deal, right? Fast forward to March 13th. The news gets turned on once more, but this time bearing a more concerning message. The moving caption across the bottom of the screen looked something like this: “Watch Live as President Trump Declares Coronavirus a National Emergency” (“A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020”). No one was prepared for the seriousness of the situation the country was about to face. As the news stations stayed busy keeping up with the ever-changing guidelines, precautions, death tolls, and vaccines, there was not much coverage on how people were handling the pandemic from a mental standpoint. One of the most unique aspects of COVID-19 is that everyone in the country dealt with isolation to a degree. Not every person in the country may have been affected by becoming sick or by having a loved one become sick, but it was inevitable to be impacted by coronavirus one way or another. Many people took isolation hard. The director of the National Institute of Mental Health Tom Insel even said, “‘We’ve never seen a moment where the demand for mental health care will be as great as it’s going to be in the next few months and next couple of years. If you add the spike in suicides and drug overdoses we are likely to see to those we were already expecting, the psychological toll from deaths of despair in the months ahead could very likely surpass the final mortality numbers for COVID,’” (Piore). A great example of the direct impact COVID has had on mental health occurred in Los Angeles, California. From February 2020 to March 2020, the suicide and crisis hotline in LA went up 8,000% (Warren and Smalley). Numbers like these are hard to process but are important to remember. As people begin to integrate back into a somewhat functioning society, it is notable that these mental health-related issues are stemming from the effects of coronavirus. As a byproduct, the mental health issues that have been created are largely a part of the reason this period has been so historic.

The 2020 election was one like no other and therefore deserves to be included as one of the most significant moments of the year. During each election cycle, there is always opposition between the two extreme sides of the Republican and Democratic parties. This past year’s election brought more division than possibly ever seen before. “There’s no middle ground,” (Greenblatt). Each party took dramatic steps to prove their loyalty to their parties. Donald Trump, a Republican, took a step of division by being the first President in 150 years to not attend the inauguration of the newly voted-in President (Rascoe). The country saw this notion as a symbol of the acceptance of lack of unity. The Democratic party as a whole seemed to harbor just as strong feelings, in the opposite direction, toward Republicans though. One study even showed that 87% of Democrats say that Republicans make them feel either frustrated, fearful, angry, or a combination of those (How Do the Political Parties Make You Feel?). It is hard to have a united country when each side does not want to work together. The historic split between Republicans and Democrats was further divided when the attempted insurrection occurred on January 6th, just days before the inauguration. The rioters breached the United States Capitol and forced lawmakers to escape in fear of their lives (Bauder). Many people sat at home in disbelief at the news reports rolled in. Was this what the United States had come to? The simple answer is yes, and that the US had been heading this way for a while. Even going all the back to 1898, in Wilmington, North Carolina, it can be seen that a white supremacist group incited violence to get what they wanted (Forde and Gustafson). It is easy to see that deep division had been piling up for years, but 2020 was the final straw. Political opinions aside, there is no doubt that the 2020 election season proved to be one of the most unique parts of the year. 

This year was also one of the biggest years for social justice movements across the country. The Black Lives Matter movement, or BLM, became a household topic that was discussed regularly. The movement got its name and purpose out there quickly as it spread like wildfire. As stated by Devin Iorio, “This movement exists as a response to the systematic inequality that plagues the American law enforcement system,”. This year, the movement sparked again after the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (Connell). There were multiple reactions in response to these killings. Some were not sure how to channel their intense feelings and turned to violence and looting. In one case in New York, following protests over George Floyd’s death, “People rushed into a Nike store in Manhattan and carried out armloads of clothing. Near Rockefeller Center, storefront windows were smashed and multiple people arrested. Wreckage littered the inside of an AT&T store,” (Mahoney and Peltz). Events such as this made it much harder for the media to take the movement seriously. Harmless protests and social media posts such as Black Out Tuesday found a way to spread positive awareness though. Due to the combination of protests, social media posts, and news articles, the culture around BLM started shifting towards a greater direction of support. This sudden wave of high statistics of support is likely thanks to 2020. “By a 28-point margin, Civiqs finds that a majority of American voters support the movement, up from a 17-point margin before the most recent wave of protests began,” (Cohn and Quealy). This year was the perfect storm for the movement to blow up as great as it did. “...what made this summer different than any other for the Black Lives Matter movement is that the coronavirus pandemic created an environment where most people had no choice but to listen and get involved,” (Connell). This past year was full of fights for social justice that will forever affect the future. 

This past year has been one of the most historically jam-packed years ever. With most events impossible to ignore, this moment in history will be studied for the entirety of time. The COVID-19 pandemic plus its effect on the mental health of people across the country will forever hold high statistics in terms of death that will be looked back on with anguish. The 2020 Presidential Election will be remembered as the breaking point in politics because it was when the crack between the two major parties became a canyon. Finally, the recent social justice and BLM movements will be written down in history as an important point in time for the fight against discrimination. With all things considered, these events will be a part of a “this moment in history” starter pack. These unique circumstances could not have been predicted. In the future, there is so much that will be learned from them. 

Works Cited

“A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020.” AJMC, AJMC, www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020. 

Bauder, David. “Riot? Insurrection? Words Matter in Describing Capitol Siege.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 14 Jan. 2021, apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-riots-media-8000ce7db2b176c1be386d945be5fd6a. 

Cohn, Nate, and Kevin Quealy. “How Public Opinion Has Moved on Black Lives Matter.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/upshot/black-lives-matter-attitudes.html. 

Connell, Marcayla. “Year in Review: The Black Lives Matter Movement's Impact.” The Daily Collegian, Collegian, Inc., 22 Dec. 2020, www.collegian.psu.edu/news/national/article_bf9c63b4-43fb-11eb-8328-5b01e385c31d.html. 

Forde, Kathy Roberts, and Kristin Gustafson. “A White Supremacist Coup Succeeded in 1898 North Carolina, Led by Lying Politicians and Racist Newspapers That Amplified Their Lies.” The Conversation, The Conversation, US Inc., 12 Feb. 2021, theconversation.com/a-white-supremacist-coup-succeeded-in-1898-north-carolina-led-by-lying-politicians-and-racist-newspapers-that-amplified-their-lies-153052.

Greenblatt, Alan. “It Took Decades for America to Become This Divided.” Governing, E.Republic, 5 Jan. 2021, www.governing.com/now/It-Took-Decades-for-America-to-Become-This-Divided.html. 

“How Do the Political Parties Make You Feel?” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research Center, 28 Aug. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2016/06/22/6-how-do-the-political-parties-make-you-feel/. 

Iorio, Devin. The True Impact of Black Lives Matter, Trinity Publications, 2017, digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=fypapers. 

Mahoney, Brian, and Jennifer Peltz. “Macy's Hit as New York Imposes Curfew amid Floyd Protests.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 2 June 2020, apnews.com/article/b1f70e768e7620981ec3d4c1e01455ee. 

Piore, Adam. “The Mental Health Toll from the Coronavirus Could Rival That of the Disease Itself.” Newsweek, 2021 Newsweek Digital LLC, 3 June 2020, www.newsweek.com/2020/06/05/mental-health-toll-coronavirus-could-rival-that-disease-itself-1506664.html. 

Rascoe, Ayesha. “For 1st Time In 150 Years, Outgoing President Doesn't Attend Inauguration.” NPR, NPR, 20 Jan. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/01/20/958905703/for-1st-time-in-150-years-outgoing-president-doesnt-attend-inauguration. 

Warren, Jacob C., and K. Bryant Smalley. “The Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health.” Commonwealth Fund, The Commonwealth Fund, 2 Dec. 2020, www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/long-term-impact-covid-19-mental-health.

Zacharek, Stephanie. “2020 Tested Us Beyond Measure. Where Do We Go From Here?” Time, Time, 5 Dec. 2020, time.com/5917394/2020-in-review/.