Happy New Year. Welcome to 2022. We approach a new year with enthusiasm and caution. Changes will come, but it does not mean progress. It means change, and some of it is backward motion. 2021 was an eventful year that brought lifestyle changes, thanks to the COVID virus, and as I look into my crystal ball, this is what I see coming in 2022.
1- The New Map. Chicago’s political map changes and will bring forth new politicians. The Black population has decreased and will cause a loss in representation. The Hispanics will gain a seat and the Asians will gain a seat. A new map will bring forth a new body of politics. As new boundaries are established, new politicians will emerge. Long term sitting Congressman Bobby Rush, retiring from congress, creates a real political upset and many will run for his seat. It will be a dog fight of a race.
2 – The Democratic Party in Illinois has introduced a new practice, The Loyalty Oath. If the party endorses a candidate for slating, you have to support all on the slate. This is under the leadership of Tony Preckwinkle. It is an authoritarian, dictatorial move. It demonstrates that the party clarion call has weakened. Alderman Pat Dowell is running for Secretary of State of Illinois. She has been a loyal democratic and a terrific alderman and has played by the party rules. She is deserving of Democratic support; however, the support has gone to former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. This is a step backward into the war chest of old Chicago when bosses were king. It also gives rise to the wealthy donor, who can buy a slate.
3 – Crime in Chicago remains a top-of-the-mind conversation. The youth are violent, and their crimes are bold and aggressive. The respect for police has diminished, and shooting /killing police is routine, from carjacking to robbery to regular house calls. New legislation is desperately required to remove guns from the street. Too often the illegal guns are more powerful than the police. The latest crime of snatch and grab has changed the world of retail stores. It is the last straw for many. Grown men shooting in the mall is outrageous as they fight over Facebook posts. The whole idea of the shopping experience is endangered, as the stores begin to chain merchandise, add security patrol and watchful cameras, many patrons will cease in-store shopping. Retail will be reinvented for the sole purpose of protection and safety. This is an upset given the shift that has been brought about with the entry oof online shopping.
4 – Streaming services will increase. To the point where the movie theater experience is threatened. Why go to the movies when you can watch the new movie from your living room? More streaming services will come on board. New TV programs will come forward and the change for television is evident as the internet was for newspapers and magazines. Television viewing audiences are gravitating to digital media, to the point where the ratings of Nielsen have to be updated to include multiple devices and new watching behavior.
5 – A new classroom is born. From the COVID experience, virtual learning exists and will increase. As the coronavirus heightens, we will see new learning models, new teachings, and new learnings as the classroom changes. The new virus Omicron increasingly affects school children, and new teaching techniques will develop. Parents and teachers are anxious about the classroom. Predictability new measures for school funding will come about other than the current headcount model. The office changes too. Remote offices, working from home will increase, as there is no need to be in a physical office, proven by Covid. Zoom work calls will be on the upswing. The lack of office workers will create a downturn in downtown high-rise office buildings. There will be tons of office innovation. Who cares about the corner office? The office will be incorporated into the home.
6 – We will see changes in the media, traditional and news. Traditional media is being challenged in every way. Somewhere between 100 to 120 newspapers went out of business last year. This means that some communities only have one paper, and local news will decrease coverage. This means less print news. Mainstream news has greatly improved coverage of Black America, but there is still a disrespect and a cry for a new narrative as the mainstream discover new Black faces and write about history. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has changed the name of Facebook to Meta and we await the creation of the “Metaverse” a concept to be realized, to introduce yet another dimension of social media, communications, and technology. And we all wait for the new innovation to come from APPLE, the world’s largest company ever.
7 – Donald Trump transformed the Republican Party. What will he do in 2022? Will Trump seek office again or perhaps start a new television station? Either way, he is a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming year, and we await his moves. The insurrection of January 6, 2021, was a blatant upset to the democratic process as Trump pushed “The Lie” that trampled and toppled the government as we know it. The Vice President ran for his life as he was requested to cheat the political process. Trump’s big lie started with the birthing of Obama. All of this says America is ripe for a third party.
8 – The debate of the Critical Race Theory is at hand. The 1619 Project, written by Nikole Hannah-Jones, presented a full view of American history to include the inception of slavery and its impact on America. For some, that view is critical to White America as it is perhaps shameful about America’s “original sin.” Texas has begun a “movement” to decry the teaching of Black history in the schools. Books with a Black viewpoint or Black editorial, Black authors are being censored. It is a movement to catch on. They are many who have fought vigorously to have Black history taught in schools at every grade level and for the college level to have Black history departments, to have Black history recognized and appreciated as a discipline. This is an academic fight to watch as it escalates. America’s truth is being revealed, resisted, and challenged. We cannot endanger history. Black history has shamefully been ignored by academia for too long and today the buzz is Critical Race Theory. How about let’s just tell the truth. Is there such a thing as “true history?”
9 – America’s democracy itself as we know it is at stake. The argument is really about white privilege, white power, and dominance. As America becomes majority-minority populated, whites are attempting to change laws, to maintain power to the point of suppressing voting laws. These laws have been hard to come by, as they recognize all Americans and provide voting rights. It is a step backward to the days of yesteryear when Black voters were asked mundane questions to vote. Like how many jelly beans were in the jar or how many bubbles were in a bar of soap. Today, Georgia seeks a state law to say voters could not be handed a bottle of water standing in a long line in hot weather to cast a vote. This year’s midterm election might be the most serious in our lifetime because the direction of America’s democracy is at stake.
10 – New politicians will come forth. The most powerful politicians in the land are aging, retiring and a new politician will emerge. The new politicians will be more progressive or more conservative. Politicians are a changing breed. I like what New York’s Mayor Eric Adams said regarding his political leanings. He answered I am not progressive or conservative. I am Eric. A new voice has come to the forefront.
11 – Men in all places and levels are being taught valuable lessons. Women will no longer tolerate the insults and the demands of sexual harassment. There are none too powerful, too famous, too royal, or too rich to be accused, tried, and jailed for hands in the wrong place.
12 – White police officers cannot kill Black men and get away with it. White police are being held accountable for murdering Black men from running in the neighborhood to being stopped for a traffic violation. White juries are finding white cops guilty of murder. Justice prevails. Black families are paid millions for the murders of loved ones. These payoffs are becoming a brand new pattern in America. The death of George Floyd was monumental. It shone the light on police brutality, and a Facebook video produced significant change all over the world, to the tune of “Black Lives Matter.”
13 – We celebrate a new holiday this year. June 19th, becomes JUNETEENTH DAY. This is a day to recognize the end of slavery as it was a late notice to get to the slaves in Texas. It is a national holiday. How will we celebrate? Will it be another July 4th? Will it be another day off for barbecue or will it have distinctions of its very own?
14 – Last but not least, there is the virus. We have moved from Covid-19 to the Delta to Omicron. Each carries its peculiar distinctions of severity. It travels the world and attacks the human body. Vaccines are the solutions to counteract the virus. I suggest the virus will come in different variances until we develop the master vaccine or the ultimate pill and that an annual vaccine will become a way of life for those who encourage health and wellness. The covid attack changed the lifestyle of the world.
Well, this is my crystal ball. So stay woke, alert, and lookup.
