The Best Things to Happen to Black People in 2022 (So Far)

We’re turning the spotlight on all of the good news happening and the inspiring Black folk creating positive change in our communities.

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By Word In Black

From continuing to deal with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, to Black Americans being attacked by white supremacists, 2022 has been a long year. But we’re still our ancestor’s wildest dreams — and that’s why despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles and the myriad inequalities brought about by racism, we remember that our experience as a people is also filled with joy and victory. Good things are always happening in our communities, so we’re sharing a few of the news stories that have helped us move forward with hope. We’ll be updating this list throughout the rest of 2022 and turning the spotlight on all of the good news happening and the inspiring Black folk creating positive change in our communities.

1. Ketanji Brown Jackson — period! We witnessed history when she was nominated and then confirmed as the first Black woman to serve as a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.

FILE – Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles as Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., arrives for a meeting in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 31, 2022. The first Black woman confirmed for the Supreme Court, Jackson, is officially becoming a justice. Jackson will be sworn as the court’s 116th justice at midday Thursday, June 30, just as the man she is replacing, Justice Stephen Breyer, retires. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

2.  President Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law. It took over 100 years and 200 failed legislative attempts, but in March, lynching finally became a federal hate crime.


3. Maya Angelou became the first Black woman on the U.S. quarter: In January quarters featuring the beloved poet, author, and activist went into circulation. Check your change for them!

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4. The fifth-largest economy in the world got serious about reparations. In June the California Reparations Task Force released it’s groundbreaking, nearly 600-page report detailing the deliberate harm done to Black Americans in the Golden State.

5. Sheryl Lee Ralph got her flowers. The original Dreamgirl sang “Endangered Species” while accepting her first Emmy, and received extravagant bouquets from Beyoncé and Oprah in the days following the award show.

 

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A post shared by Sheryl Lee Ralph (@thesherylleeralph)


6. Fisk University became the first HBCU to launch a women’s gymnastics team. The team flipped the internet when a video of their practice went viral on Tik Tok.

 

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A post shared by Sheryl Lee Ralph (@thesherylleeralph)


7. A Black-owned chocolate brand became the exclusive chocolatier of Cadillac. The Memphis-based Phillip Ashley brand is known as the “modern day Willy Wonka” due to its bold flavors, like bourbon salted caramel and collards & cornbread.

8. Megan Piphus Peace became the first Black woman puppeteer on Sesame Street. After spending a season as a puppeteer performer, the 29-year-old former real estate developer became a full-time cast member in season 52 of the show.


9. Academic ambitions. At 14-years-old, Morayo Owopetu is both a high school senior and has enough credits to be a college sophomore. The Maryland teen wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps and become a dentist with the hopes of eventually opening clinics in Nigeria.

Photo: courtesy of itsblackgirlnews on Instagram.

10. Kahlana Barfield Brown became the first partner of Target’s “Future Collective” clothing brand. The 120-item collection features a variety of affordable styles, most under $35, that run from XXS through 4X.

11. Shark-approved organic skincare. Tania Speaks, a 19-year-old from Baltimore, got a $400K investment from Mark Cuban for her organic skincare line during her appearance on Shark Tank.

12. Yes, we DO ski! This year a Washington, D.C.-area Black ski club is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Black Ski, Inc.was one of the earliest Black ski clubs in the country, and the 500-member group has traveled all around the globe to hit the slopes.

13. Former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama’s official portraits were unveiled. And can we say, they are absolutely stunning!

Former President Barack Obama kisses his wife former first lady Michelle Obama after they unveiled their official White House portraits during a ceremony for the unveiling in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

14. Students at USC started a majorette dance team  — and we’re here for it. Organized by 20-year-old musical theater major Princess Isis Lang, the Cardinal Divas performed at their first football game on Sept. 17.

15. Tabitha Brown took over! The vegan influencer launched a cooking show on the Food Network, a clothing line at Target, and she has a plant-based cookbook being released this fall — and she can do that, because that’s her business!

 

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A post shared by Tabitha Brown (@iamtabithabrown)

16. 19-year-old Haley Taylor Schlitz made history as the youngest Black law school graduate. Schlitz crossed the stage with her degree at Southern Methodist University Dedman School in May.

17. Henrietta Lacks’ family took a pharmaceutical company to court 70 years after her cells were stolen. Her descendants are the closest they’ve ever gotten to getting justice — and they have attorney Ben Crump on their side.

Henrietta Lacks shortly after her move with husband David Lacks from Clover, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland in the early 1940s. The World Health Organization chief on Thursday honored the late Henrietta Lacks, a Black American woman who died of cervical cancer 70 years ago and whose cells that were taken without her knowledge spurred vast scientific breakthroughs and life-saving innovations such as for vaccines for polio and human papillomavirus, and even in research about the coronavirus. (The Lacks Family via AP)

18. The return of Bruce’s Beach. In July, ownership of a beach in Manhattan Beach, California, officially went back to the descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce, a Black couple who opened a resort there in 1912, only to have their property stolen in 1924.

 

Under the leadership of Supv. Janice Hahn and with the support of Supv. Holly Mitchell, Senator Steve Bradford and Governor Gavin Newsom worked collectively to RIGHT a 100-year-old WRONG. (E. Mesiyah McGinnis/L.A. Sentinel)

19. Halle Bailey is the “Little Mermaid”! The live action remake of the “Little Mermaid” will be released next year and showcase Halle’s impressive acting and vocal skills.