2014 – The Year that Ended

Perhaps, the best thing about 2014 was not the beginning or the middle, but the end. And this is not about the euphoria that comes with celebrating another year alive as a group of men of color living in North America. No. We shall delve into the racial aspects in the next segment. Instead, 2014, for those living in this part of the Western Hemisphere, started out weak, got relatively worse between the Spring and the Fall – and then just when we were in full bedwetting mode amidst a deadly shooting in Canada, riots in the United States, dead black men and dead police, Barack Obama came out swinging and showed us all what Hope and Change was really about.

A few will admit it: but there was certain joy in watching U.S. President Barack Obama defy the Republicans by announcing his own version of immigration reform just a few short weeks after the Democrats resoundingly lost the U.S. Senate, and more seats in the House of Representatives. Of course, those in the know must have noted that at the traditional press conference to discuss another ‘shellacking’ in the Mid Terms, Mr. Obama hinted at the fact that very few people had actually voted in the 2014 November elections, and that he – Barack Obama – was still the President of these United States. He followed this defiant press conference, to the chagrin of Fox News and other conservative news outlets, with an Executive Order giving quasi legal status to over 5 million illegal immigrants. It does not matter that the next president could reverse Obama’s immigration changes. It matters less that this action on immigration was a little too late to save the Democrats legislatively. Most people did not say it, but it felt really good to note that in spite of their chest thumping and calls for impeachment, Obama’s Republican opponents could do nothing in response to his historical move to legalize Latinos, Europeans and a whole host of black people that are in the United States illegally.

Obama followed up on his immigration action by doing something about the historical relations between the United States and Cuba; by getting many of his judicial nominations passed by the now-done majority Democrat Senate. And as if to rub things in, the U.S. economy almost went into hyperdrive – producing more jobs and growing at levels seen over 10 years ago. Under the leadership of the country’s first Black President, the United States recovered from an economic abyss and immediately, people started to feel good about themselves. While the Republicans had, secretly, been cheering on people like Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, both these two found themselves in dire straits. Netanyahu might survive this round of electoral challenges, but the Russian Bear has been gored over and over again by Mr. Putin’s outdated KGB tactics in Ukraine. Standing almost victorious is an Obama who is presiding over lower gas prices in the United States, an additional 2 million subscribers to the Affordable Care Act [aka Obamacare] and ‘enemies’ both foreign and domestic absolutely demoralized.

On the other side of the coin, Obama was absolutely right about race relations in the United States. In a pre-Christmas interview, Mr. Obama noted that because of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and in New York – following what some considered racially motivated killings – many people felt that the post-racial society many people hoped for was slipping further and further away. He seemed to say that the media was to blame for highlighting these racial things. And as a tribal rug, we could not agree more. We have to take a little responsibility for stroking the racial flames. After all, we were angry not just about the deaths of Michael Brown or Eric Garner, but also because the American justice system seemed to have failed people of color. Again, it is easy for people to suggest that Mr. Obama should have used these deaths of black men to do another speech on race. Mr. Obama wisely, in hindsight, avoided what would have come naturally to him. In the end, we could make the argument that the two policemen that were murdered in New York were innocent victims that did not need to die. We could assign blame, like some quarters in the United States are doing, to those promoting peaceful marches for civil rights. We could, even, go as far as saying that an eye for an eye is good justice. But in the end, whether we like it or not, race relations have improved in the United States. If you do not believe us, look around and see how many people of color are marrying into mainstream populations. Of course, you could also go back and read our editorial on Tomorrow People.

Invariably, 2014 was also the year of Ebola. This ugly, UGLY disease is still, without a doubt, decimating populations in Africa. Even worse, it has almost erased the progress Africa made when Barack Obama hosted over 35 African heads of state this past August. The heart of the matter is that people in the United States do not know about Africa. They think that the continent is a country, and that it is one open ulcer. Many cannot pinpoint important sites like Bahr el Gazel, and many think that South Africa is the only place that has roads and running water. At the same time, while they worship Nelson Mandela, most North Americans STILL do not have any experience with Africans. Instead, with all the drama around African Americans, lots of negativity is assigned to black people. And so, Ebola did not help in the least. That people were dying in droves from a fantastical disease was enough to get silly politicians and pundits to call for things like travel bans. Others focused on Obama and trained their fire at the Centers for Disease Control. In the end, just like the U.S. Congress found no malice in the drummed up Benghazi scandal, those anti-Obama folks associating Obama to Ebola and other negative aspects outside the continental North America had to eat humble pie, crow and of course, their hats.

Nonetheless, the large number of those from Africa and the Caribbean had to contend with the fact that Jamaica’s economy suffered from mismanagement; Barbados did not do as well as it ought to have done, and although Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta was ‘exonerated’ by the International Criminal Court, countries like the Central African Republic continued to be basket cases. Swaziland was kicked out of the league of countries benefitting from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). At the same time, Ebola ensured that the economies of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea continued to do worse and worse, while civil war in South Sudan reminded us of the delicate balance between mismanagement and competent leadership in Africa.

But, again, 2014 is a much better year especially because of how it is ending. On this last day of 2014, and as we welcome 2015, there’s a chance that this cold spell many of us are experiencing will pass. In fact, unlike where we were last year, folks can go to work without the harsh spells of snow falling out of the skies. Yes – global warming is a real thing, but at least, Pope Francis and Barack Obama are on the case. Heck, they even got China to join in some sort of pact to reduce carbon emissions. Even if these are 30 years out, there’s no doubt that those keen on austerity measures and fear of the future are having a bad end of year. That means that the rest of us optimists are having a really good one. And we intend to have a good 2015 – at least for the first quarter. Then we will have to keep our eyes open for ISIS, the deal with Iran, the Israeli elections and things we could not have prepared for in Africa.

Editorial Team
The Habari Network