2023 Year in Review: The Best and Worst of Times

By Hiram Jackson | Word In Black Courtesy of istockphoto (WIB) – Retrospectives of the preceding year are not simply a recap. They are, in many ways, a forecast for what’s to come. If we don’t take the time to reflect on what’s gone before, we’re more likely to make the same mistakes and less able to apply what we’ve learned going forward — case in point, the strange case(s) of Donald Trump. Trump& is the story that keeps giving. The former president, the only president in the nation’s history to be indicted on federal charges,& faces a litany of criminal charges& after being impeached twice. The fact that he remains a frontrunner in the 2024 election and is still a Republican party favorite is a national tragedy. But the upside:& three Black women law officials& — New York Attorney General Letitia James, Atlanta-based District Attorney Fani Willis, and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan — continue to hold his feet to the fire for crimes ranging from fraud and sexual harassment to election tampering and inciting a riot.& That these three Black women are in a position to hold and preside over such high-profile cases underscores this nation’s progress on...