2011: The year that was, as covered by the Amsterdam News (37085)

January

  • Newly elected New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo begins his term.
  • New York City Schools Chancellor Cathie Black begins her tenure; Black takes the job with much controversy, coming from a business background with no educational experience.
  • Sisters Gladys and Jamie Scott are released from prison after being ordered to serve two consecutive life sentences for stealing $11 in 1993 in Mississippi. Jamie is in need of a kidney transplant.
  • The effects of a blizzard in late December that left over two feet of snow and the city’s slow response are felt for weeks; elected officials try to figure out what went wrong as the city continues to clean up.
  • A raise in fares from the MTA goes into effect; single subway and bus rides go up to $2.50.
  • The world marks the first anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti that killed over 316,000 people. Two years later, people in the Caribbean nation are still in need and many remain homeless.
  • After serving five months of a two-to-four-year sentence, John White comes home. White was convicted of manslaughter while defending his family from a group of white teens.
  • The Rev. Jesse Jackson holds his 14th annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit in New York, focusing on economic disparities facing American families.
  • The Tony Award-winning musical “Fela!” based on the life of Nigerian singer Fela Kuti ends its Broadway run.
  • Trouble looms at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn; faculty and students are concerned over services cut under the CUNY school’s new president, William L. Pollard.
  • The nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day as money continues to be raised for the civil rights leader’s national memorial in Washington, D.C.
  • Black workers at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx file discrimination charges after being laid off. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is seriously injured when a gunman opens fire at a constituent meeting in Tucson, Ariz.
  • A charter school slated to be built in St. Nicholas Houses in Harlem causes controversy; Harlem Children’s Zone plans to build the school, but residents say they were not involved in the decision.
  • Five hundred newly elected officers of NAACP units across New York State are sworn in.
  • Black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi celebrates its 100th anniversary.
  • Harlem business owner and recording pioneer Bobby Robinson dies at 93. Robinson is best known as longtime owner of the Harlem record store Bobby’s Happy House.
  • Lead singer of the Marvelettes, Gladys Horton, dies at 65.
  • Activist Erica Ford and her organization I Love My LIFE/LIFE Camp leads “Peace Week” to combat violence in the community. Journalist David Hardy passes at 68.
  • President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address focusing on employment.
  • Carlina White, 23, is reunited with her biological family after searching the Internet. She was kidnapped in 1987 when she was 2 weeks old at Harlem Hospital by a woman who passed her off as he own child.
  • Kelly Williams-Bolar, a Black woman, is sent to jail in Ohio for sending her child to school in a district better than the one she lives in.
  • The Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture celebrates its 85th anniversary.

February

  • Black History Month is commemorated with the theme “African-Americans and the Civil War.”
  • The Department of Education votes to close 10 public schools in the city. The vote also allows for several charter schools to usurp public school buildings.
  • The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in the Super Bowl. The game becomes the most watched television program in U.S. history, with 111 million viewers.
  • Gov. Cuomo releases his 2011-12 budget; he is criticized for not making the rich pay their fair share and announcing numerous cuts to Medicaid and education.
  • President Obama proposes a federal fiscal budget for 2012.
  • Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is elected mayor of Chicago.
  • Black millionaire Alphonse “Buddy” Fletcher files a discrimination lawsuit against his co-op, the famed Dakota on the Upper West Side, for allegedly denying him the right to purchase an apartment in the building.
  • As Walmart tries to move into New York City, public hearings are held on whether to allow the retail giant to come in.
  • Black FDNY electrician Gregory Seabrook finds a noose in front of his locker in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
  • The Freedom Party, led by City Councilman Charles Barron, hosts its founding convention in Brooklyn.
  • Longtime Apollo Theater music director Ray Chew leaves the famed venue after he is tapped to serve as music director for “American Idol.”
  • A grand jury does not indict a Mount Pleasant police officer in the shooting death of Black Pace University football player Danroy Henry, who was unarmed.
  • Mayor Michael Bloomberg presents his proposed 2011-12 budget, which includes the layoff of 5,000 teachers.
  • Longtime Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel announces his plans to run for reelection and a 41st term.
  • The first National Urban Health Conference is held in Harlem.
  • Police arrest over a dozen people in a drug bust on Harlem’s 137th Street.
  • Black residents, who have been calling on police for years to fight the issue, say the bust occurred because of gentrification and a recent increase in white residents.
  • During the bust, 17-year-old Afrika Owes is put in the spotlight after she is arrested and jailed for allegedly carrying guns for her boyfriend. Owes gets particular attention because she is an honors prep school student and has never been in trouble with the law.

March

  • An anti-abortion billboard featuring a young Black girl is erected in Lower Manhattan; the ad reads “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb” and garners criticism from Planned Parenthood.
  • A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan kills nearly 16,000.
  • Tennis player Serena Williams is hospitalized after suffering a pulmonary embolism.
  • As the Libyan civil war continues, Libyan rebels join with NATO forces under UNSCR 1973 and French fighter jets begin reconnaissance flights over Libya.
  • Harlem restaurateur, minister and real estate dealmaker Joseph Holland is caught up in controversy when he is accused of taking money from loan sharks and risking his life by not returning it.
  • Real estate broker Thomas Lopez-Pierre makes the transaction possible. Four white students at Stuyvesant High School send a video of racially offensive material via Facebook to Black student Breanna Celestin.
  • A report released by the NYPD reveals a 30 percent increase in murders among Blacks. Rapper Nate Dogg dies at 41.
  • The 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards are held in Los Angeles; big winners include Tyler Perry and Halle Berry.
  • The Wisconsin Senate approves a bill that ends collective bargaining rights for nearly all unions. Unions and citizens across the country protest the action.
  • The city’s Department of Homeless Services announces that, because of budget cuts, it will eliminate the Advantage voucher program, which transfers formerly homeless families to independent living.
  • During his comeback to the music scene, R&B singer Chris Brown goes on a violent rampage on the set of ABC’s “Good Morning America” after host Robin Roberts asks him about his abusive relationship with singer Rihanna.
  • Numbers from the 2010 Census are released. New York City has a population of about 8.4 million; however, Mayor Bloomberg and others say there was a miscount and the city has more people than reported. The city’s Black population sees a 2 percent decrease.
  • President Obama holds a fundraiser in Harlem.
  • The New York State legislature passes Gov. Cuomo’s $132.5 billion budget; protests ensue, accusing the governor of making cuts across the state.
  • Corey McGriff, better known as DJ Megatron, dies after being shot in the chest during a botched robbery.
  • Two Administration for Children’s Services employees and the grandmother of 4-year-old Marchella Brett-Pierce are charged in her 2010 death; Brett-Pierce allegedly died from being strapped to a bed, denied food and water and force-fed over-the-counter medication.
  • Polls show Mayor Bloomberg, who is in his third term, hits an all-time low in his approval ratings: 51-39 percent.
  • The city marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. The tragic event, which resulted in the death of 146 women, started the nation’s union and labor movement.
  • The Queensborough Bridge is renamed the “Ed Koch Bridge”; according to a survey, 64 percent of New Yorkers oppose the renaming.

April

  • Author, educator and scholar Dr. Manning Marable dies at 60. His death come days before the release of his controversial book “Malcolm X: A Life Reinvented.”
  • The December 12th Movement holds a protest at the United Nations against the United States’ involvement in Libya. Singer Phoebe Snow dies at age 60.
  • The Rev. Al Sharpton hosts the 20th Annual National Action Network National Convention; President Obama speaks at the gala.
  • The University of Connecticut defeats Butler University in the NCAA basketball tournament.
  • A report released by the NAACP shows that 2.3 million inmates in the prison system are people of color; they advocate for inmates to be moved into treatment programs instead of prison.
  • President Obama announces he will run for re-election in the 2012 presidential race.
  • After over three months on the job, the mayoral-appointed Schools Chancellor Black steps down.
  • Deputy Mayor for Education Dennis Walcott steps in and takes her place. Walcott is considered favorable because of his past work as an educator and previous service as president of the New York Urban League.
  • An Air France Airbus collides with a Comair Bombardier at JFK Airport. There were no injuries. Two of the five men who were wrongfully imprisoned in the Central Park Jogger case, Raymond Santana and Khary Wise, demand compensation from the city.
  • Tornadoes bring havoc across the southern United States, killing nearly 300 people.
  • Shockwaves are felt across the tri-state area when 25-year-old LaShonda Armstong drives herself and her four children into the Hudson River after an incident with her boyfriend. Of the children, ages 10, 5, 2 and 11 months, only the eldest survives.
  • Outrage is felt across the city when a 7-year-old special education student is handcuffed in Queens. Police report that the first-grader had a pair of scissors in his hand and was cuffed for his own safety and that of other students.
  • President Obama releases his long-form birth certificate in response to media coverage that questions his U.S. citizenship.
  • The U.S Court of Appeals declares that the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jama is unconstitutional.
  • The world watches as Prince William marries Catherine Middleton in London; an estimated 2 billion people watch the royal wedding.

May

  • President Obama announ-ces that Osama bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda responsible for the 9/11 attacks, has been killed by an American military operation in Pakistan.
  • The president comes to the city to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Ground Zero.
  • The UFT and NAACP file a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court to stop the Department of Education from closing 22 schools.
  • The president of the International Monetary Fund and French presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn is charged with raping a New York City hotel maid.
  • Black businessman Herman Cain announces he will seek the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential election. A lawsuit is filed by Alvin Sykes to reopen the case of the assassination of Malcolm X.
  • The suit stems from a new book that names another suspect responsible for his death.
  • A $50 million lawsuit is also filed by Linward X Cathcart, a former minister with the Nation of Islam, against the estate of Dr. Manning Marable over information in his book.
  • After 25 years on the air, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” broadcasts its final episode. Winfrey launches her cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
  • A tornado in Joplin, Mo., kills over 160 people and injures 1,150. Poet, singer and writer Gil Scott-Heron dies at 62. The NAACP sues charter school Harlem Success Academy over its students being educated in a co-located school.
  • The civil rights organization accuses that the charter school is operating under better conditions in the same buildings as lower-graded district schools.
  • A community center in Queens is opened in the name of NYPD shooting victim Sean Bell.
  • After 73 years in operation, all-male Rice High School closes in Harlem, holding its final graduation; school officials cite that a lack of money keeps the school from staying open.
  • Actress Clarice Taylor, known for her role as Cliff Huxtable’s mother on “The Cosby Show,” dies at 93.

June

July

  • The city’s $66 million budget is passed by the City Council; Councilman Barron is the only council member who votes against it. The budget is highly criticized because it calls for the layoffs of teachers, firefighters and workers in the departments of Parks and Transportation. Dozens of activists take over City Hall Park with blankets and sleeping bags to protest the cuts.
  • Rent laws are extended for another four years by the state Assembly; the legislation expands rent protection for tenants.
  • Football great John Mackey dies at 69.
  • A controversy over charter schools looms; a report by the New York Independent Budget Office reveals that money spent on charter schools is being diverted away from district schools and possibly making money for hedge funds.
  • Rappers Pete Rock and General Steel allege that the NYPD brutalized them outside of a nightclub after a fight broke out.
  • Former first lady Betty Ford dies at 93.
  • Former IMF head Strauss-Kahn is released from house arrest and goes back to his native France after new evidence challenges the rape charges against him; investigators say they have evidence the victim may have lied to a grand jury.
  • Several elected officials and community leaders speak out against the handling of the case by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
  • Famed Brooklyn baker Raven “Cake Man” Dennis sets a world record for creating the world’s largest cake, in the shape of the coat of arms of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
  • Boxing promoter Butch Lewis dies at 65.
  • The city is shocked by the killing of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzsky after he is abducted while walking home in Brooklyn.
  • Soul singer Amy Winehouse dies at 27.
  • NBA owners begin a lockout after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
  • America watches as Casey Anthony is found not guilty of killing her daughter.
  • The United Nations declares a famine in southern Somalia.
  • The fight for voting rights heats up when several states require Americans to present a photo ID in order to vote; elected officials say it’s a tactic by the Republican Party to minimize the Black, Latino and youth vote.
  • After the victory of the Vulcan Society in a discrimination lawsuit, the FDNY launches a campaign to increase the number of Blacks in the department. Dorothy Brunson dies at 72.
  • Brunson was the first Black woman to own a radio and TV station.
  • A judge denies the NAACP’s and UFT’s request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent the DOE from moving forward with its plans to close failing schools and co-locate charter schools.
  • Courthouses are packed as the same-sex marriage bill goes into effect in New York State, making way for thousands of couples to marry around the city. The 37th Harlem Week takes place.

August

  • Courageous 13-year-old Kira Goddard is killed in Brooklyn after she is pinned under an out-of-control car while trying to save her friends. Football great Charles Aaron “Bubba” Smith dies at 66.
  • The U.S. Congress votes on a deal to resolve the debt ceiling crisis, and the House passes it.
  • Legendary journalist Gil Noble suffers a stroke and is left in critical condition. Noble is famous for his weekly show “Like It Is” on WABC, which ends as a result of his illness.
  • As the recession continues, a report by the Pew Research Center reveals that the wealth gap is widening between Blacks and whites and Blacks are being hit hardest by the recession.
  • Tragedy strikes and the nation watches in horror when a main stage collapses at an outdoor concert in Indianapolis. Seven people are killed and 45 are injured.
  • Riots erupt in the United Kingdom in reaction to the police shooting of a 29-year-old Black man.
  • Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan comes to Harlem for the Millions March.
  • The highly acclaimed film “The Help” hits theaters; the film, starring Viola Davis, focuses on Black domestic workers in the South of the 1960s. Actress and activist Jane White dies at 88.
  • A water main breaks in Harlem from 145th to 155th Street.
  • In an effort to combat STDs among Black and Latino youth, Schools Chancellor Walcott makes sex education mandatory for middle and high school students.
  • Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland makes headlines after he is shot at while in his car with his son. He is not the intended target.
  • The New York Amsterdam News changes the format of the newspaper. The new style is smaller and more commuter-friendly and features color on every page.
  • Singer and songwriter Nick Ashford dies at 70 from throat cancer.
  • A judge dismisses the case against former IMF head Strauss-Kahn, who was accused of sexually assaulting a Black hotel maid; the decision sparks protest and outrage among the African and domestic worker community.
  • The Martin Luther King Jr. monument is completed in Washington, D.C., and is ready for dedication.
  • Creditors of Inner City Media Corporation file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing $254 million in debt.
  • The city announces it will lay off nearly 800 employees in the Department of Education.
  • The city rocks when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia is felt in New York; New Yorkers are sent out into the streets as buildings are evacuated as a precaution.
  • Rev. Sharpton becomes the host of his own prime time show, “PoliticsNation,” on MSNBC.
  • The Cherokee Nation Native American community decides it will not recognize descendants of slaves.
  • Hurricane Irene blows through New York City, leaving little damage but major flooding in the tri-state area.

September

  • President Obama unveils his American Jobs Act to a joint session of Congress.
  • The nation marks 10 years since the 9/11 attacks. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum are opened in Lower Manhattan. Presidents Obama and George W. Bush attend a ceremony at Ground Zero.
  • Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams and public advocate senior aide Kirsten Foy are wrongfully arrested and brutalized by the NYPD officers at the West Indian Day Parade. Their arrest is taped and

    October

    • As the Occupy Wall Street Movement continues, unions begin to join in protests around the city.
    • Protesters take their message beyond Zuccotti Park and spread to One Police Plaza and Times Square. At one demonstration, 700 people are arrested while attempting to cross the Brooklyn Bridge; recorded footage of NYPD officers brutally arresting protesters sparks outrage.
    • The Public Employees Federation rejects a deal with Gov. Cuomo that would have frozen wages and cut benefits.
    • News surfaces that Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry regularly hosted friends and family at a ranch called “Niggerhead”; outrage follows, though Perry says the name was changed.
    • Amanda Knox is released from Italian prison following the appeal of her murder conviction.
    • The U.S. Senate rejects President Obama’s American Jobs Act in a procedural vote. U.S. Postal workers across the city join a nationwide effort to keep post offices open.
    • Earlier in the year, the USPS announced it would to close 3,500 post offices around the country and lay off 100,000 employees.
    • Over 700 public school employees are laid off in order to close a $23 billion gap in the city’s budget.
    • Civil rights activist Fred Shuttlesworth passes away at 89.
    • Black Republican candidate Cain shows a promising lead in the polls, becoming the party’s frontrunner.
    • Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, both Black women, are given the Nobel Peace Prize.
    • The New York State NAACP celebrates its 75th anniversary.
    • “The Mountaintop” opens on Broadway, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Basset; the play is about Martin Luther King Jr. and his final night before his assassination.
    • Author and civil rights activist Derrick Bell dies at 80.
    • Thousands gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Monument; speakers at the event including President Obama, Rev. Sharpton and former NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. Sharpton holds a march at the event for jobs and justice.
    • Actress, model and writer Vanessa “Sister Coop” Cooper passes away. Former State Comptroller Carl McCall is appointed chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees.
    • Activists protest at WABC studios to demand that Gil Noble’s legacy be kept alive. The station launches a new show focusing on Black issues called “Here and Now.”
    • The fifth annual African Day Parade takes place in Harlem.
    • The NYPD comes under fire when a recording surfaces of Staten Island police officer Michael Daragjait saying, “Fried another nigger.”
    • Dr. Jay Sanford, husband of famed educator Adelaide Sanford, passes away.
    • Two of the NYPD officers involved in the 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell, Gescard Isnora and Michael Carey, stand trial within the Police Department.
    • Zurana Horton, a mother of 12 children, is shot and killed by a stray bullet during a shooting on a Brooklyn street.
    • Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi is killed in Sirte, Libya.
    • Staten Island shows support for a 20-month-old who is hit in the eye by a stray bullet.
    • President Obama announces that all U.S. troops will be home from Iraq by the end of the year.

    November

    • Numbers that come in from the 2010 U.S. Census reveal that poverty in America has hit an all-time high. Over 45 million people in America are living in poverty, including one in four children.
    • Several anti-gun violence organizations, including Man Up Inc. and SNUG/Cease Fire East New York, carry coffins over the Brooklyn Bridge during a silent march to highlight senseless violence.
    • The college sports world is rocked when Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is arrested for allegedly molesting eight boys during a 15-year period.
    • As the investigation unfolds, famed head Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is fired, along with university president Graham Spanier. Gov. Cuomo appoints Black female attorney Leecia Eve as his deputy secretary for economic development.
    • Leading Black scholar and professor Dr. Leonard Jeffries leaves City College.
    • Several organizations, including the NAACP, the National Action Network and the Urban League come together to combat new voting laws in many states that require IDs in order to vote; the groups say it’s a Republican Party attempt to suppress the Black vote.
    • Dr. Conrad Murray is found guilty of causing the death of Michael Jackson, who died in 2009.
    • Murray is convicted of involuntary manslaughter, loses his medical license and will serve prison time.
    • Boxer Joe Frazier dies at 67 from liver cancer.
    • Occupy Wall Street protesters participate in an 11-mile march from Washington Heights to Wall Street.
    • Harlem Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services celebrates its 175th anniversary.
    • Radio legend Hal Jackson celebrates his 97th birthday. He has been on the air for nearly seven decades.
    • Terrie Williams marks 10 years since she started the Stay Strong Foundation, which addresses mental health issues in the Black community.
    • Black comedian Patrice O’Neal dies at 41.
    • The Search for Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) program at City College is renamed after the late Percy Sutton, who was instrumental in founding the program.
    • Geoffry Mutai of Kenya and Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia win the New York City Marathon.
    • After camping out at Zuccotti Park for nearly two months, Mayor Bloomberg orders that Occupy Wall Street protesters must leave the park, allegedly due to sanitation and hazardous conditions. During the night, NYPD officers forcefully destroy the campsite and arrest those who do not leave.
    • The Rev. Floyd Flake of Allen AME Church in Queens celebrates 35 years as pastor of the megachurch.
    • College students around the city participate in protests at Baruch College against tuition hikes; CUNY votes to increase tuition by $1,500 over the next five years.
    • Rapper Heavy D dies at 44.
    • Leila Lopes of Angola, Miss Universe, visits Harlem. Former NAACP Board of Directors member Bishop Clarence Carr passes away at 73.
    • Florida A&M University makes headlines when student Robert Champion is killed during an alleged marching band hazing incident.
    • Scholar and professor Cornel West takes a position as professor of philosophy and Christian practices at Union Theological Seminary, leaving Princeton University, where he will be a Professor Emeritus.
    • Days after being acquitted of federal corruption charges, Assemblyman Boyland is rearrested on separate federal bribery charges; prosecutors claim to have recordings of Boyland soliciting $250,000 in bribes.
    • On the fifth anniversary of the shooting death of Sean Bell, one of the NYPD officers involved in the shooting, Detective Isnora is found guilty of violating NYPD guidelines.
    • Bell’s family members call for the officer to be terminated. City Councilman Barron announces he will run for Congress in 2012.
    • Odumegwu Ojukwu, leader of Biafra, dies at 78.

    December

    • Almost 30 years after being convicted of shooting a police officer and spending decades on death row, Abu-Jamal is free of his death sentence but remains behind bars.
    • Legendary Black physician Dr. Muriel Petioni passes away at 97.
    • World AIDS Day is celebrated, marking 30 years since the first cases of the illness were discovered.
    • The Heisman Trophy is given to Black Baylor University starting quarterback Robert Griffin III.
    • The NAACP, along with several other organizations, holds a protest demonstration against voter ID laws.
    • Cain suspends his presidential campaign amid allegations that he sexually harassed several women and carried on an extramarital affair.
    • The DOE releases a list of 25 schools around the city slated for closure due to low performance.
    • Karl Rodney, publisher and CEO of the New York Carib News, is selected to serve as chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation.
    • Former New York Urban League and United Way of New York City President Horace Morris dies at 83.
    • A Black doll hanging by a noose is found at the Parks Department’s Bronx borough headquarters.
    • Black Mt. Vernon firefighter Kevin Townes dies at 54. Singer Cesaria Evora passes at 70.
    • U.S. senators hold off on plans to close a number of post offices around the country.
    • Grammy-winning percussionist, writer and producer Ralph MacDonald dies at 67 from lung cancer.
    • The Rev. Dr. James Forbes, who formerly served as senior minister at the Riverside Church, is appointed a professor at the Union Theological Seminary.
    • The Iraq War officially ends after eight years and U.S. troops return home.