Closing the Door
The Year That Was and Wasn’t
We asked some of our favorite journalists, writers, and thinkers: What were the most important events of 2020, and what were the least?
2dNo one seemed quite sure how to proceed. “While we’re here, we might as well set up a government,” somebody suggested.
↩︎ The New Yorker
2dA recent study found that self-reported symptoms of “body-focused repetitive behaviors,” such as skin-picking, nail-biting, and hair-plucking, have increased during the pandemic. When people are suffering inside, those struggles often make their way to the surface.
↩︎ The Atlantic
2dOur founding aspirations were just that: aspirations. It’s been the work of generations—from Frederick Douglass and Fannie Lou Hamer to Harriet Tubman and Bayard Rustin—to realize these aspirations.
↩︎ Ford Foundation for Social Justice


2dFanone suffered a mild heart attack and drifted in and out of consciousness. All the while, the mob was chanting “U.S.A.” over and over and over again. “We got one! We got one!” Fanone said he heard rioters shout. “Kill him with his own gun!”
↩︎ The Washington Post

