The year begins somberly with a slew of heartbreaking deaths: singer Anita Pointer, 74, of the Pointer Sisters and drummer Fred White, 67, of Earth, Wind & Fire, as well as the burial of Brazilian soccer king Pelé in his hometown in Brazil. Mayor Eric Adams was ticketed for rats at his Brooklyn townhouse and vowed to fight his own City Hall. There was some good news, though: New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, the state’s first female governor, and State Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James, the first Black woman to hold the position, are sworn in at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Dr. Hazel Dukes. House Democratic Leader and Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries delivers a stylized speech to “welcome” Majority Speaker Kevin McCarthy, after several rounds of tumultuous votes to appoint him. Justice Hector LaSalle loses nomination for chief judge of New York State.
Actresses Angela Bassett from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Quinta Brunson and actor Tyler James Williams from “Abbott Elementary,” and Zendaya from “Euphoria” win Golden Globes. Bassett goes on to be nominated for an Oscar for her “Black Panther” role at the 95th Academy Awards and wins Entertainer of the Year at the NAACP Image Awards. A look at Dr. Martin Luther King’s “beautiful, yet fraught” relationship with the Jewish community. Mounting political pressure to deal with the immigration crisis in the city prompts Adams to travel down South and connect with fellow Democratic mayor of El Paso Oscar Leeser. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis backs the state’s rejection of a proposed nationwide AP Black studies course, saying it pushes a political agenda. Memphis police officers are caught on video “savagely” beating motorist Tyre Nichols for 3 minutes, likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of motorist Rodney King. A nurses’ strike at Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center hospitals is quickly resolved with ratified contracts after a few days. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles are the first Black quarterbacks in U.S. history to face off in a Super Bowl.