At the 27th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, late actor Chadwick Boseman receives a record four nominations, winning Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Viola Davis wins Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for the same film. Daniel Kaluuya wins Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for “Judas in the Black Messiah.” Former NFL cornerback Phillip Adams fatally shoots six people at a house in Rock Hill, S.C. Adams later commits suicide. Rapper DMX (Earl Simmons) is hospitalized due to a cocaine-induced heart attack. He never regains consciousness and dies of multiple organ failure a week later at age. Funeral services are held at the Barclays Center and the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. Florida Congressman and judge Alcee Hastings dies at age 84. New York State follows the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s lead and eases up restrictions for COVID-19 protocol for graduations and classrooms. The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is paused over causing rare blood clots. More than 100 million people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. Daunte Wright, a biracial 20-year-old man, is fatally shot by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop and attempted arrest for an outstanding arrest warrant in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Police say that Potter meant to use her Taser, but accidentally grabbed her gun instead. Potter is arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. She is later released on bond. The global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 3 million. The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 1 billion. Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi introduces legislation that would award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Harlem Hellfighters.” New York Attorney General Letitia James has released the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings in her office’s investigation into the March 2020 death of police killing of Daniel Prude in Rochester. A grand jury previously declined to charge the officers involved in the killing.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is found guilty on all charges for killing George Floyd. Chauvin is found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Dr. Raymond Codrington is named the new chief executive officer of Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn. Legislation declaring Feb. 14 as Frederick Douglass Day is signed into law in New Jersey. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Justice Department begin a civil probe of the Louisville, Kentucky police department and the officers there who fatally shot Breonna Taylor along with several more similar cases awaiting his attention. The CDC announces that people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues. At the 93rd Academy Awards, Daniel Kaluuya wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Judas and the Black Messiah.” The Disney movie “Soul,” featuring the voice of Jamie Foxx, wins Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Score. Violence flares up in the city when 50 people are shot in 46 shootings over a week. Anti-violence advocates call for a ceasefire. Members of TWU Local 100, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, the New York City Central Labor Council, DC37 and other unions sign a letter calling for Mayor de Blasio to increase the number of cops patrolling the transit system and expand mental health services.
Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black man, is killed by a gunshot to the back of the head by the Sheriff Department in Elizabeth City, N.C. The shooting occurred while deputies were serving drug-related search and arrest warrants at the Brown residence. After being abducted after leaving her home in South Carolina, Black, 15-year-old Sanaa Amenhotep is found dead nearly a month after her disappearance in a wooded area with 15 gunshot wounds. Sanaa is the daughter of New Jersey social justice activist Sharif Amenhotep. Seven officers are placed on leave as a result of the shooting and the FBI launches a civil rights probe into Brown’s death. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeds 150 million worldwide.
