A Few Phoenixes of 2016

As the unusually disturbing 2016 comes to an end, what are you looking forward to in 2017? Preferably, I would like a significant reduction in the legends I and my parents grew up with. I mean you Prince, you purple paisley royalty who I can only assume traveled to us from Narnia.

From embarrassing elections to numerous upsets in the animal kingdom, this year has been one no one will ever forget. The world faced so many disheartening truths and sickening atrocities that the internet continuously “broke”! Memes ruled the airwaves equipped with strategic hashtags connecting the masses to the point that the entire world stood up and screamed “Go home 2016, you’re drunk!”

ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THE NOW BLAST-FROM-THE-PAST CASSETTE TAPE, babies were born, folks got married and descendants of the African Diaspora served up some serious #BlackExcellence.

From Boko Haram hostages being rescued and girls protesting hair prejudices to Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill to a LONG list of Black Firsts in History, as an African American lucky enough to see her 30^th birthday year, I felt powerful highs along with the soul bruising lows.

Ricci Coughlan/DFID

Even the Obama family, as they prepare to leave the White House, has given America a historic 8 years of a scandal-free First Family devoted to healthy living, inspiration to be great and empowering role model behavior. Here’s hoping the Trump clan took notes…

What else happened in 2016 you ask?

1. NASA made it to Jupiter!




2. The world came together to drown out ALS




3. The brilliantly talented Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar (finally)




4. We finally got to see where Dory came from, Deadpoolmade us laugh until we cried (or peed…you weirdo) and we sang along with Baloo and Mowgli about the Bear Necessities




5. A woman made history winning a major party nomination in a presidential election

From the ashes…

We also experienced a great deal of awareness for things historically swept under the rug. Words like Equality and Justice were moved to the forefront of the world’s psyche and the highs and lows of acceptable cultural norms.

The grievances 2016 wrote into history’s manuscript in permanent ink did manage to breed a few necessary Phoenix dialogs. Almost every country in the world is facing its own systemic and systematic problems caused by the decisions and beliefs made in its past generations.

Since I’m an American millennial, I happen to have a front row seat to the United States’ phoenixes:

1. RAPE CULTURE was forced to take the stand and has brought awareness to how ingrained it truly is




2. The US Government’s debatable abuse of power (COLONIZATION & CAPITALISM centered) throughout the world and at home with the rights of our Tribal communities and their lands protected by signed treaties




3. An in depth look into the training and readiness of America’s BOYS/GIRLS IN BLUE and an influx of citizens of various backgrounds signing up to put on that blue uniform




4. America’s failing PRISON system is under a microscope (both public and private) and the Judicial system discrepancies in correlation have pinpointed illegal activity




5. The MEDIA has lost some of its credibility as bias content and corruption has been running ramped for far too long. More now know that you can’t trust everything you read, see or hear and take it at face value

What it all boils down to is how far we have come and how far we still have to go in honoring BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS no matter what race, religion, sex, nationality or birthplace, creed or age said human being is.

So buck up old chap, you’ve survived the tragedies & atrocities and you have the power, better yet, the OBLIGATION to do something about the ones we can fix.

Change truly does come from within!