Incumbent Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is voted out. Wayne Shorter, jazz saxophone pioneer, dies at 89. Out of tragedy, a new tradition of co-naming streets after the victims of gun violence emerges. A year after Will Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock, he finally gives his rebuttal in a forceful stand-up special on Netflix. Jon Jones returns to win the UFC heavyweight title in the first round. Tamika Richards, 41, a Brooklyn mother of six and grandma to a six-month-old grandson, is fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in Coney Island, and dies shielding her son Ray-Quan Parker, 18, from the oncoming red truck.
The city’s education department develops a comprehensive Black studies curriculum for public schools. Angela Bassett is snubbed at the Oscars again, but Ruth E. Carter wins Best Costume Designer for “Black Panther 2.” Jazz vocalist Jann Parker dies, as well as soulful R&B singer Bobby Caldwell at 71; actor Lance Reddick, of “The Wire” and “John Wick’ fame, at 60; former NBA Knicks player Willis Reed at 80; and human rights advocate Randall Robinson at 81. Former President Donald Trump’s historic perp walk and indictment by District Attorney Alvin Bragg receives threats.