A look back at what made 2020 one of the worst, and most inspiring, years in recent memory

We don’t know about you, but 2020 has left us exhausted. The year has been filled with immense loss, sadness and enough chaos to fill a decade’s worth of newspapers.

The year was dominated by a global pandemic, which infected 77 million people and took the lives of more than 1.6 million worldwide; nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and far too many Black men and women at the hands of police; and a presidential election that saw President Donald Trump do everything in his power to elevate white supremacy and discredit the will of the people as record numbers turned out to vote.

But among the chaos of 2020, we saw stories of inspiration as everyday heroes stepped up to meet the challenges that this year threw at us. We got familiar with words like essential workers and social distancing, as health care professionals, food service workers, grocery store clerks, truck drivers and more put themselves in harm’s way on the frontlines and became the people keeping us supplied, keeping us going and keeping us alive.

We saw thousands, mostly young people, take to the streets in protest and organize against violence and injustice. These people who were looking for accountability in their leaders turned their anger and outrage into votes, leading more people to the polls than ever before to say four more years of Donald Trump is not something this country wants or can survive.

Many people also managed to find some joy in this year. The social media platform Tik Tok blew up, allowing people in quarantine to express their creativity through dancing, cooking, arts and crafts. It also helped people to connect and have some semblance of human interaction that had been taken away from them due to the pandemic.

Streaming services, new and old, gave us plenty to watch. They introduced us to heroes to root for, villains to root against and provided a plethora of nostalgic shows from our youth. We got to meet “Tiger King’s” Joe Exotic and Carloe Baskin and we had to say goodbye the Rose Family of “Schitt’s Creek.”

It was a year that hit far too hard, felt far too long and seems far too difficult to try and summarize. But that’s what we try and do in the following pages.

We go month-by-month and highlight the biggest stories of the year – locally, statewide, nationally and globally.

Join us as we look back on the long, dark tunnel that was 2020 and some of its bright spots that give us hope for 2021.

• Watermark optimistically welcomes the New Year with renewed focus, ushering in 2020 with the help of fitness experts and dietary specialists. Personal trainers and nutritionists in Central Florida and Tampa Bay share tips to help readers with health-related resolutions meet their goals.
• We subsequently examine a battle within. Transgender and nonbinary individuals discuss discrimination from fellow members of the LGBTQ community while advocates stress the importance of unity.
• They also call for action. LGBTQ icon Cleve Jones visits the LGBT+ Center in Orlando to implore voters to oust Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. His visit follows the death of the organization’s former executive director Terry DeCarlo at 56, a leader mourned by the community at large.
• In Tampa, the former Diversity Chamber of Commerce unveils its new name, becoming the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Sarasota Pride, which skipped its traditional Oct. 2019 festival, also marks 30 years with its first January outing – unknowingly becoming one of the last in-person Pride celebrations of 2020.
• Just hours before the legislative deadline and with three LGBTQ members serving in the Florida Legislature, Republican lawmakers kick off the year by submitting four anti-LGBTQ bills. Equality Florida calls the session “the most overtly anti-LGBTQ agenda” in recent years. Federally, organizations like the Human Rights Campaign clash with the Trump administration as it introduces anti-LGBTQ “religious freedom” regulations.

• Love is safely in the air as Watermark introduces Central Florida and Tampa Bay’s 10 most eligible singles. Our first LGBTQ Voters’ Guide of the year follows ahead of Florida’s presidential primary.
• Of the 28 Democratic candidates initially challenging Trump’s presidency, eight remain. Watermark contacts each campaign to detail their commitment to equality, receiving in-depth responses from former Vice President Joe Biden, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and more.
• Local leaders are given the spotlight in Central Florida. The LGBT+ Center announces award recipients for the 2020 Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast ceremony scheduled for May. Honorees include Rep. Anna Eskamani. Owners of the Parliament House, Orlando’s longest-running LGBTQ nightclub and resort, deny rumors that their property will be auctioned.
• St Pete Pride reflects on its 17th year by unveiling its $67.2 million economic impact in 2019. They reveal more than 265,000 attended the prior year’s festivities and look ahead to their June 2020 celebration, expected to welcome even more. Tampa Pride announces it will hold their inaugural, celebrity-headlining Pride at Night the next month.
• As news breaks that Florida schools discriminating against LGBTQ students have received financial support from the state’s voucher program, corporate funders withdraw from the scholarship program. Companies including Wells Fargo and Wyndham Destinations stand with equality as LGBTQ and ally Floridians remain hopeful for an inclusive year.

• Everything changes. After celebrating the 2020 Watermark Awards for Variety and Excellence, in-person festivities grind to a halt. The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a global pandemic March 11 and coronavirus concerns quickly impact Central Florida and Tampa Bay.
• With an estimated 60,000 people expected to fill the streets of Ybor for the sixth annual Tampa Pride March 28, organizers postpone until May. The seventh annual Manatee Pride in Sarasota follows suit.
• The LGBT+ Center and Hope & Help in Central Florida suspend in-person events and services, as do Tampa Bay organizations like Empath Partners in Care and Metro Inclusive Health. Gatherings throughout the state are also shuttered as local governments declare states of emergency and announce business closures, a precursor to city and statewide shutdowns.
• In Miami, the first known case of COVID-19 surfaces from the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Winter Party Festival. More than 10,000 people attended the gathering March 4-10. More cases resulting from the fundraiser follow as Florida suspends all on-premises dining and alcohol consumption.
• Ahead of further social unrest and economic instability, leading presidential candidates including Buttigieg suspend their campaigns. He does so as the first openly gay man to receive presidential delegates. Buttigieg and others subsequently endorse Biden, who easily wins Florida’s presidential primary and goes on to face Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.

• Watermark speaks with nonprofits working to address LGBTQ homelessness, an issue exacerbated by uncertain times. We also find something to celebrate as April brings Lesbian Visibility Day. We sit down with local lesbian leaders who reflect on the LGBTQ activists who inspired them.
• Rather than postpone festivities, Orlando staples One Magical Weekend and Tidal Wave Party move their events scheduled for the first weekend of June to 2021. The Contigo Fund and One Orlando Alliance unite to raise funds for members of the LGBTQ community in need.
• Fundraising and entertainment efforts ramp up in Tampa Bay as well, as performers launch virtual shows to bring the community together. St Pete Pride postpones its 18th annual celebration to the fall while Tampa Pride announces it won’t return until next year.
• In a bright spot of news, Tallahassee bans the discredited practice of conversion therapy, but multiple deaths are now linked to the Winter Party Festival in Miami. More fundraisers across the state alter their 2020 plans as LGBTQ nonprofits begin to rethink how they serve the community.
• The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) also evolves, faced with a nationwide shortage of blood due to COVID-19. They ease restrictions on donations from men who have sex with men, allowing them to donate after abstaining from sex for three months instead of one year. Trump notes he had nothing to do with the change as Biden becomes his apparent Democratic challenger when Sanders departs the presidential race.

• With cases surging and stay-at-home orders becoming commonplace, we highlight essential LGBTQ workers. These nurses, delivery drivers and more become heroes in Central Florida and Tampa Bay.
• A father’s need to protect his son becomes a fight to protect all transgender children in Flagler County. Watermark introduces readers to two individuals making a difference in their Central Florida community as an example for those beyond it.
• Equality Florida reveals that it raised more than $56,000 in an online event. Its first virtual fundraiser highlights Palm Beach, Tallahassee, Key West, Miami and St. Petersburg; cities where COVID-19 cancelled events that were projected to raise nearly a half million dollars for critical work in the election.
• National nonprofits also continue raising awareness. On the eighth anniversary of Biden becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to publicly support same-sex marriage, the Human Rights Campaign endorses his presidency. Many others follow, including the National Center for Transgender Equality, as the candidate reiterates his longtime support for the LGBTQ community.
• By the month’s end, 8 minutes and 46 seconds becomes a symbol of police brutality. George Floyd’s murder at the hands of officers is filmed in Minnesota, prompting activists across the world to assert yet again that Black Lives Matter. Worldwide protests erupt and continue for months to come, with hundreds of LGBTQ organizations uniting to condemn racist violence and white supremacy.

• We preview a Pride Month unlike any other; a June with no in-person Pride festivities after the state’s largest LGBTQ celebration cancels. St Pete Pride shares it won’t return until 2021 as organizations find new ways to connect with one another, from socially-distanced events to virtual gatherings.
• Civil rights remain the focus of this unprecedented Pride season. The U.S. Supreme Court gives the LGBTQ community a much-needed victory, enshrining into law that LGBTQ Americans are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• The court rules 6-3 that an employer who fires an individual merely for being a member of the LGBTQ community violates federal law, a win celebrated by Biden and decried by Trump. We examine the implications at length.
• Local nonprofits stress the importance of this intersectionality throughout the month, a trend that advocates hope will continue well beyond it. The Contigo Fund launches their efforts to financially support organizations empowering the Black, LGBTQ community and the One Orlando Alliance forms an anti-racism committee to address systemic racism in Central Florida.
• In Tampa Bay, Come OUT St. Pete, Project No Labels and the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum unite for “Together We Rise,” a vigil mourning lives lost and stressing that Pride began as a protest. Metro Inclusive Health and CAN Community Health close out the month by committing to double health services by 2021, promising to serve every community with the renovation of the German-American Club.

• As COVID cases continue to rise and protestors are taking to the streets to fight against police brutality, Watermark begins July by opening our in-depth feature to local, Black LGBTQ leaders to share their stories and have their voices heard. We also reflect on five years of marriage equality in the U.S.
• In Central Florida, Bros in Convo — a Black, LGBTQ-led organization — advocates for Black Lives Matter and the transgender community, spearheading initiatives for Black artists and providing tasers for trans women of color to protect themselves from violence. The One Orlando Alliance also begins its search for a new executive director.
• In Tampa Bay, The Plus Project awards nearly $55,000 in grants to Tampa Bay nonprofits serving the LGBTQ community. By the end of the month, several permanent street murals are painted in the Progressive flag colors both in Tampa and St. Petersburg showcasing diversity, equality and inclusion in the Bay area.
• In South Florida, the community loses yet another transgender woman of color to violence when Bree Black is shot and killed in Pompano Beach the day before Independence Day. Later in the month, homophobic Davie police chief Dale Engle, who stated an openly gay officer died of COVID-19 because of his “lifestyle,” announces he will retire in September.
• Colorado’s openly gay governor signs into law a bill banning the use of gay or trans panic as a defense in the courtroom, making it the 11th state to issue such a ban. The United Nations calls for a global ban on conversion therapy.

• Watermark takes an in-depth look at the impact of COVID-19 shutdowns on local LGBTQ bars and nightclubs, as well as how LGBTQ teachers are feeling about going back into the classroom during a pandemic. We also chat with LGBTQ delegates ahead of the Democratic Party’s virtual convention.
• Since moving forward with in-person events is deemed too dangerous, many Central Florida LGBTQ organizations announce they are going virtual for upcoming events. This includes the City of Orlando’s Youth Empowerment Summit, onePULSE Foundation’s Rainbow Run and Zebra Coalition’s Drag Race 5K.
• Tampa Bay’s Michele Rayner makes history by winning her primary to represent Florida House District 70, making her the first Black, openly LGBTQ woman elected to the Florida Legislature. Also in Tampa Bay, a transgender woman files a lawsuit against Pinellas County alleging her civil rights were violated when she was held in county jail in 2019.
• A federal appeals court delivers a major victory in transgender rights when it rules 2-1 that a Jacksonville-area high school violated the law by refusing to allow trans student Andrew Cody Adams to use the restroom consistent with his gender identity. State Rep. Shevrin Jones moves one step closer to becoming Florida’s first openly gay state senator after winning his primary race.
• “Harry Potter” author, J.K. Rowling announces that she will return a 2019 award bestowed from a human rights organization after the group’s president criticized her transphobic comments.

• Watermark is all about the arts in September as we feature local entertainment offerings for the upcoming season. We also take a deep dive into Tampa Bay’s International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival which goes virtual for the first time.
• U.S. Rep. Val Demings takes on the FDA as she and fellow House member, Rep. Mike Quigley, introduce a bill that would allow blood donations nationwide regardless of the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The intersex community also scores a big win when activist Juleigh Mayfield is granted her request for a gender change on her legal documents, the first time a Florida ruling has covered an intersex individual.
• Sarasota’s Harvey Milk Festival celebrates 10 years of the Fabulous Independent Film Festival with a virtual celebration. The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area launches an LGBTQ Equality Voters campaign, an initiative designed to encourage civic participation from LGBTQ and ally voters. The league enlists local artist John Gascot to paint an interactive mural.
• After months of being shut down, Florida announces that bars across the state may reopen at 50% capacity. Former Tallahassee mayor and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum comes out as bisexual.
• The world mourns the loss of liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passes away Sept. 18. Less than 10 days later, Trump nominates conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace her. Barrett is confirmed by the Senate a month later.

• Watermark devotes both October covers to the 2020 election. In a first for the National LGBT Media Association, all 12 member publications — including Watermark — unanimously endorse Biden and Kamala Harris. As the month draws to a close, we publish our second LGBTQ Voters’ Guide.
• As Come Out With Pride hosts its socially-distanced Pride in the Streets in October, the One Orlando Alliance announces Josh Bell as its new executive director. The month also brings tragic news as Central Florida says goodbye to beloved entertainer Sam Singhaus and the Parliament House announces it will be closing. Its last dance is scheduled for Nov. 1.
• Come OUT St. Pete moves forward with in-person, socially-distanced events to celebrate Pride. On Tampa Bay’s political front, Congressman Charlie Crist tours LGBTQ-owned businesses in St. Pete and the youngest Trump daughter; Tiffany visits Tampa to headline “Trump Pride,” designed to court LGBTQ voters.
• Equality Florida makes its largest investment ever in a state race to defeat the Republican candidate running for the state senate seat in Florida’s 9th District. In Palm Beach, the county’s human rights council works to expand its anti-discriminations ordinances.
• Bringing more uneasiness about the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issue a statement criticizing the court’s 2015 decision granting marriage equality to all U.S. citizens. In a new documentary, Pope Francis endorses same-sex unions for the first time as pope.

• Watermark opens November by remembering the iconic Sam “Miss Sammy” Singhaus as friends share stories of the drag legend who passed away after battling brain cancer. We also check in with Metro Inclusive Health as they work to renovate a 100+-year-old building into a state of the art health care center in Tampa.
• In Flagler County, LGBTQ activists call on the school board’s new and returning members to update the district’s nondiscrimination policy by adding gender identity to it. The school board will add gender identity the following month. State Reps. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Anna V. Eskamani are among the state House representatives to win re-election in Central Florida.
• In St. Petersburg, state Rep. Jennifer Webb loses her re-election bid in House District 69. Webb made history in 2018 as the first openly LGBTQ woman to be elected to the Florida Legislature. Tampa Pride also announces it will move its March 2021 parade to May.
• Former state Rep. Shevrin Jones becomes state Sen.-elect, winning his race to become Florida’s first openly gay state senator. Unfortunately, it isn’t all happy news in South Florida as a trans entertainer is murdered in Miami by her boyfriend and a federal court rules that conversion therapy bans are unconstitutional.
• Nationally, voters say one term for Trump is enough and elect Biden as the nation’s next president. LGBTQ candidates also make history – winning key races in both blue and red states, including the first transgender person elected to a state senate and the first openly gay Black men to win seats in Congress.

• Watermark closes out 2020 by looking back at the recently-closed Parliament House through the eyes of a few of its drag performers. We also name 20 community advocates and allies who made remarkable contributions to an otherwise chaotic year to our annual Remarkable People Issue.
• The City of Orlando announces it is working with local health organizations to assess the needs of those living with HIV in Central Florida. The Center Orlando also announces it is working with the FDA on a study that could lead the federal organization to change its policy of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood.
• Tampa and St. Petersburg score 100% on HRC’s annual equality index. Balance Tampa Bay also celebrates its 10th year of Party 4 Presents, a holiday toy drive benefitting local charities.
• Palm Beach County and Boca Raton also challenge the appeals court ruling overturning their conversion therapy bans.
• As the Biden administration prepares to take over in January, Buttigieg is nominated to serve as Transportation Secretary. If confirmed, Buttigieg will become the first openly gay person to take a cabinet position that requires Senate confirmation. He will also be the youngest person to hold a cabinet position.
• The British government announces it will be easing its restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood, stating that “donors with one sexual partner and who have been with their sexual partner for more than three months will be eligible to donate regardless of their gender, the gender of their partner or the type of sex they have.”