Tampa Bay names the defining moments of 2020
If one thing didn’t slow down last year, it was the news cycle. That’s why Watermark asked readers to name the defining moments and stories of 2020.
Three in particular resonated above the others, the first of which was COVID-19. The coronavirus impacted every facet of our lives in Tampa Bay and beyond last year.
More than 20,000 positive cases were reported statewide on Dec. 31, 2020, a record at the time. The news received heightened scrutiny as New Year’s Eve celebrations were held throughout Tampa Bay.
That’s because more than 875 of them came from Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg – and more than 1,500 came from Hillsborough County, which Tampa calls home. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, each 2021 WAVE Award winners, were quick to respond and urge caution from constituents.
“As we enter 2021 with COVID remaining a serious threat, we must recommit ourselves to doing right, for ourselves and for each other,” Kriseman shared. “I know we can do it.”
“We can all agree that 2020 has been a bit of a dumpster fire,” Castor added, “but the end is in sight and we need you to be the fire extinguisher.”
Racial injustice and police brutality also captivated readers following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Activists asserted that Black Lives Matter in worldwide demonstrations, including in Tampa Bay.
Equality-focused organizations quickly joined their efforts to assert that All Black Lives Matter, including those who are LGBTQ. The WAVE Award-winning Equality Florida joined with hundreds of other organizations to call for reforms, while the WAVE Award-winning Come OUT St Pete partnered with the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum to virtually present “Together We Rise,” a vigil designed to unite the LGBTQ and Black communities. This work continues.
Finally, the 2020 presidential election gripped readers through the end of the year. Readers cited not just the defeat of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, who each advocated against LGBTQ equality while serving as president and vice president and before, but for the promise of a better tomorrow.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 83% of LGBTQ voters supported the Biden-Harris presidential ticket. In the victories of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, readers noted, LGBTQ allies had returned to the White House.
After 2020, the LGBTQ community was ready to Build Back Better.
Tampa Bay describes 2020 in one word
Tampa Bay remembers what we lost in 2020
Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community came together in unprecedented ways throughout 2020, staying connected in a year unlike any the modern world has ever faced. That’s reflected in the record response we received for the WAVEs, or Watermark Awards for Variety and Excellence.
Despite the victories our community managed to hold onto, however, there were still losses that we’ve had no choice but to carry with us into 2021. That’s why Watermark asked readers to reflect on which 2020 losses they’ll miss the most as we move forward.
The majority of answers were made in response to COVID-19, which kept us socially distanced for our own safety throughout most of the year.
Readers reflected on the loss of community gatherings – like what would have been the sixth annual Tampa Pride in March 2020 or the 18th annual St Pete Pride in June – to the loss of live concerts and theater at venues like the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and Ruth Eckerd Hall. Thankfully these events and venues – all WAVE winners this year – promise to return bigger and better than ever before.
Tampa Pride is currently scheduled for a return to Ybor City in May 22. Ahead of that, St Pete Pride will hold it first event of the year March 12-14, returning to its birthplace in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg for Taste of Pride. Details about the outing are available on p. 13 ahead of the organization’s plans for June.
Despite these bright spots, not everything will be back this year. That includes Tequila’s Taqueria & Tequila Bar in Ybor and the long-running Parliament House in Orlando. After 45 years, the beloved destination closed its doors.
Readers noted that LGBTQ-inclusive and focused spaces like these will be dearly missed, as will other businesses that permanently closed due to economic strain. That included a number of jobs that readers lost as a result.
More heartbreakingly, the loss of life weighed heavily on members of our community.
Respondents generally cited the loss of friends, family members and other loved ones who died from COVID-19 en masse, as well as those who died from other causes.
That included Terra Winthrop, a lifetime advocate for Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community who died Nov. 27, 2020 and Paul Kinchen, a community light who died Dec. 10, 2020.
National figures who died last year also made the list. Readers specifically named basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died Jan. 26, 2020; civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died July 17, 2020; “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, who died Aug. 28, 2020; Supreme Court Justice and LGBTQ champion Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18, 2020 and “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, who died Nov. 8, 2020.
Dancing at venues like The Honey Pot in Ybor, hugging our loved ones and even casual acquaintances while socializing in LGBTQ safe spaces throughout Tampa Bay – as well as safely traveling outside of it without COVID-19 concerns – factored in heavily.
WAVE voters also summarized how they felt about their lack of connection in 2020 using only one word, displayed above in a word cloud. They made it very clear.
With vaccines becoming more readily available, however, they remain hopeful for a brighter 2021 – or as one respondent noted, “at least to have more human interaction.”
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