The summer of 2015 was one for the books, bursting with events that will be forever marked in the nation’s history. From the landmark legalization of same sex marriage to the removal of the Confederate Flag at the South Carolina Statehouse, we have seen quite remarkable times in just a few short months.
The acts of terrorism, hatred and horrible cases of police brutality and innocent police officers who have lost their lives as a result of the growing confusion, mistrust and outrage of civilians. And then, of course, there are the stories that aren’t as impactful as the but astound us nonetheless.
As we barrel into a new school year reflect on some of the biggest head turning headlines that burned up the news heat index through the months of June and August.
Cecil the Lion:
On July 1st, 13 year old South African lion Cecil, who lived in Hwange Game Reserve in Zimbabwe, was led off the reserve by a big game hunting party. He was then wounded and killed by American dentist Dr. Walter J. Palmer who illegally poached on the park’s ground.
He was helped by a landowner whose property is not too far from the park and a big game hunting guide. Those men are now facing charges, although they claim they did not know the lion was well know when they went after him at the time.
In the time following, people all over the world expressed an outpouring of love for Cecil and an equal amount of animosity toward Palmer. Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s incensed opening monologue in one of his episodes following the slaying of the big cat saw him visibly upset and choked up over the vile act.
Although some factions were up in arms over how little the same kind of outrage was extended to slain human lives in the last couple of months.
Charleston Church Shooting:
June proved to be a month filled with head scratching controversies and unthinkable tragedies. On June 18th, the nation awoke to find yet another massacre had been carried out the night before at one of the oldest black congregations in the south.
Dylan Roof, 21, walked into Charleston African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina and gunned down several members as they held bible study in the basement. Reportedly, he sat in on the class before declaring that he was there to “kill black people”, proceeding to open fire on his unsuspecting victims, many of them elderly.
Nine were killed in the massacre, including the church’s pastor Clementa C. Pinckney. Five survived. Not long after the tragedy was there a public outcry to cease the flying of the Confederate Flag over the South Carolina Statehouse.
After publicly forgiving Roof, who confessed to his crimes after being apprehended, members the church encouraged each other to push ahead the following week, the theme of their bible study “The Power of Love”.
#Trump 2k16:
When talking hairpiece Donald Trump announced his bid for presidency in early June, it was met with some contention. Actually, that would be an understatement. His rambling and boastfulspeech, which featured some astounding generalizations, struck a major nerve among many people across the U.S.
More amazingly, he seems to believe he has he vote of the very people he has offended. The idea that he would have the Latino and African American vote is laughable, but if there is any truth in it, it is a terrifying thought.
He is a businessman most known for Celebrity Apprentice, a beauty contest, his partnership with department chain Macy’s, but most of all his crude, outspoken nature. So it came as no shock when he spoke about building a “great, great wall” on our southern border.
In season four of the show Arrested Development, there’s a running plotline that centers on the patriarch George Bluth wanting to build a wall along the border of Mexico using stolen, decommissioned government contracted blueprints in order to line his pockets again.
It’s like Trump watched that episode and thought “Yes, that’s it. That’s the thing that’s going to make America great again.” The basis of his campaign is the need to reinvigorate the American Dream, a paper thin and vain ideal that has proven to be self-destructive and non-inclusive.
Trump for President is just about as appealing as Kanye West for President but if it came down to it, the eccentric rapper would have my vote before the Donald.
#Sayhername:
Leading into the summer, there was no shortage of police brutality cases cropping up in and out of national headlines. It seemed like every other week another human being became a hashtag: “justice for [insert name here]”.
Of the many near the end of the summer were Christian Taylor, Amber Monroe, and Zachary Hammond. However, it was the nature of Sandra Bland’s story that prompted it to be propelled across news outlets and social media, catching fire.
28 year old Bland was very vocal about her opinions on social media, her #SandySpeaks videos on Facebook provided her with a platform to speak on racism and other topics. Just before her life was senselessly ended she was on her way to a new job in Texas.
In July, Bland was pulled over for an alleged routine traffic stop. Tensions with the officer, who pulled her over, suddenly escalated when he used excessive force to pull her from her vehicle after she refused to comply with his order to put out her cigarette.
Before she was taken into custody, she thanked the man that captured the shaky footage of the arrest. Three days later Bland was found hanging in her cell at Waller County Jail.
A number of conspiracy theorists had a thing or two to say about what might have happened in her time in the jail cell, her strange mugshot and the discrepancies in the dash cam footage and first autopsy.
But the message was clear, the nation wanted answers and Bland’s family deserved them. In the last year, we have experienced a heightened conflict between the public and police force, the likes of which the media have not covered in a very long time.
Check out singer Janelle Monae’s revamped version of “Hell You Talmbout”, a song which uses the hashtag #sayhername as a means to remember those who have lost their lives as a result of police brutality, most notably Black lives. “This song is a vessel. It carries the unbearable anguish of millions,” she says.
#AskRachel:
President of her NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, human/civil rights activist Rachel Dozealmade national headlines back in early June after an investigative reporter approached her and asked if she was African American.
The reporter had been looking into reports of hate crimes involving Dozeal, but found that she was claiming a black man as her father and had lied about her ethnicity on her application to serve on the citizen police ombudsman commission. Eventually a photo of her real parents was unearthed.
Staring blankly ahead as if he had asked her to solve a difficult math algorithm, Dozeal slowly replied, “I don’t understand the question.” One part secret identity, two parts disaster–shake well and enjoy. It wasn’t long before the internet set to creating a meme out of her and every news outlet wanted a piece of the woman who was claiming to be ‘trans-racial’.
In light all the criticism and jokes, Dozeal has remained unapologetic but has stepped down from her position as president.
#Backtoback:
It all started with, as Drake has now famously coined, trigger fingers turning to Twitter fingers. More specifically it was Meek Mill’s fingers that did the deed, tweeting out on July 1st ,“Stop comparing darke to me too. He don’t write his own raps. That’s why he ain’t tweet my album because we found out!”
The comment was rather random and attention seeking one but seemed to garner the reaction it was begging for. Several days later, Drake released “Charged Up” and then “Back to Back”–which is still getting major radio play–in the span of a few days.
He never stated to whom he was referring to in the tracks but with lines “Is that a world tour or your girls tour”, it was very clear as Meek had just joined girlfriend Nicki Minaj on her Pinkprint Tour.
However, the Philly rapper turned to Twitter instead of the recording studio to air his grievances. Fans of Drake began eating up Meek’s radio silence especially. Even Toronto Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly banned Meek Mill from Drake’s hometown.
What seemed like an eternity later, Weak Mill–excuse me–Meek Mill finally released diss freestyle “Wanna Know” on radio DJ Funkmaster Flex’s Hot 97. Flex is also responsible for aiding in Meek’s initial attack on Drake, revealing the identity his alleged ghostwriter.
However, the diss track dropped to the sound of crickets and also whisperings of a possible lawsuit as he used WWE wrestler The Undertaker’s opening theme without his permission. However that claim, while hilarious, originated from a fake newsite.
The world may never know, but if anything is clear, the internet killed Meek Mill, shaming him both in public and online, dragging the rapper left, right and center field. Even after the beef fizzled
out, dozens of fans on Twitter and Instagram took to it like sharks in a feeding frenzy. In fact, many people would not have know his name had he not incited the feud.
Zhana Johnson
Senior Features Editor