Looking back at 2024 while looking ahead to 2025

To describe 2024 as having been unique is of course true, as is each year. Therefore, we will go further and describe it as having been tumultuous and far from predictable. In order to illustrate that point we will point to 12 events or set of events occurring in 2024.

We begin with Donald Trump’s indictments. The year found him indicted or convicted in Florida, Georgia, the District of Columbia, and New York. No other president has ever been indicted for anything, although Richard Nixon had come close. It was somewhat dramatic to follow the actions as the attorneys interacted; as the teams sparred back and forth, sometimes even with the presiding judges. Many wondered about the health and viability of the concept of the rule of law as Trump eluded punishment with regularity. The year closed with most of his cases still on hold.

Simultaneous with the court actions were the presidential campaigns. The shifting fortunes and poll positions of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the revelation of the extent of Biden’s cognitive decline, and the emergence of Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. Almost daily there were comparisons between the performances of Trump and Harris, their stances on the issues, and speculation on the impact of race and gender, and of rural vs. urban and suburban areas on the final voting outcomes. A very significant part of the debate in the media was on the extent to which Trump’s penchant for authoritarianism was a threat to democracy as Americans had grown to know it and the fact that much of the planning for such a fascist was already published in a document later called Project 2025.

While those things were a-foot at the national level, there were assaults on Jackson’s city government. City, and sometimes county, officials struggled with various assaults on their authority, including on the airport, the water and sewage systems, the baseball stadium, policing, and the courts. City officials tried to fight back through court actions as well as through appeals for federal assistance.

Away from the political arena, big news was made as many people learned that six African Americans were being seriously considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church. They include Mother Mary Lange, Father Augustus Tolton, Mother Henriette De Lille, Pierre Toussaint, Julia Greeley, and Mississippi’s own, Sister Thea Bowman. This became big news because it is the first time in the history of the church that such has happened, and especially since the Catholic Church is so universal in its geography and ancient in its age.

At the state level, Ayers settlement funding for Alcorn, Jackson State, and Mississippi Valley State came to an end. Many felt that far too little had been provided and that perhaps there should be another round of court action. Along that same line of thinking, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Education revealed that Alcorn State University has been deprived of millions of dollars in agricultural funds which have gone to Mississippi State University instead.

In what to many appeared to be a local issue, Jackson State University’s Faculty Senate president was placed on administrative leave and recommended for dismissal based upon her strong advocacy role on behalf of the faculty. Like several of the other matters above, this one bleeds into 2025.

Shortly after mid-year, City Councilwoman Angelique Lee resigned from the city council and pled guilty to the charge of bribery, in an FBI sting operation which also involved Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and City Councilman Aaron Banks. Their trials have been set for 2025.

White racist conduct in Lexington and Rankin County caught the attention of the media after the FBI began investigating citizens’ complaints. The NAACP and other concerned groups and citizens plan to monitor both situations in 2025 in order to help get out all of the facts and see that justice is done.

On the international level, big news was made when it was revealed that more than a dozen African countries moved to end the neo-colonial exploitation of their raw materials by various European countries, along with China and the USA. These foreign affairs matters joined the headlines occupied by the Israeli-Arab conflict, especially the Israel’s bombing of the people of Gaza and the continuing war in Ukraine.

Near the end of the year, Donald Trump was declared president and began announcing his choices for his cabinet, staff, and administrative agencies. This quickly made news since many of his choices had questionable backgrounds and/or lack of the apparent necessary qualifications. At least one of his choices, Elon Musk, has already killed the spending resolution which was designed to keep the federal government operating for another quarter.

The rising political violence against politicians,  judges,   journalists, and corporate executives made for big news all year long.

Finally, because there are so many JSU alumni and supporters in the state, and because it was history-making, JSU’S winning of the Celebration Bowl was also big news. The winning of the national championship meant the lifting up of the football program to that level for its fourth time in history.

For sure there were other major stories in 2024. We chose these 12 because of how they attracted the attention of the typical Jackson Advocate reader and because most of them will be around and bear watching well into 2025. Next week, we will focus on those on-going issues as we feel they will take shape.