Legs of Tornado: The Human Who Outran the Wind
Authored by Felicien Kanyamibwa

Long ago, the people of Rwanda suffered through a terrible famine. The rains did not come to help the crops grow, the grass withered, and the soil became so dry that it cracked. 

Monday, January 17, 2022 is Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tributes to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.  are held in the Unites States, nationwide. This year, like in 2021, will have limited people interractions given the on-going worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. In normal times, the day  would usually be marked by massive commemorations including marches and peaceful protests to remember and celebrate the national civil rights leader who was instrumental in challenging the racial caste system that delineated how millions of Americans lived their lives and promoted racial injustices targeting minorities, especially Blacks.  

 Most Influential Black Person and AfroAmerica Black Person of the Year, as of 2022

In the table below are the Most Influential Black persons and AfroAmerica Black Persons of the Year, as the year 2022 starts. Each year, AfroAmerica Network names a Black Man and a Black Women of the Year. The influential Black persons are usually selected for a much longer period.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, an African-American renowned journalist and HBCU Howard University professor, is a Pulitzer Prize winner. As a reporter for The New York Times Magazine and the creator of the 1619 Project, she covered racial injustice.

Sidney Poitier, a legendary Black actor and civil rights activist has passed away in Los Angeles, CA on January 6, 2022. He was 94 years old.
His death was confirmed by the office of the prime minister of the Bahamas. Sidney Poitier  was  the first Black man even to win a Best Actor Oscar.  Sidney Poitier,  whose parents hailed from the Bahamas, was also known for being the most prominent, if not the only representative of African-Americans in mainstream cinema during the tumultous period of the American Civil Rights movement.

On Wednesday, January 5, 2022, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a pardon for civil rights activist Homer Plessy, 130 years after his arrest, trial and conviction, for protesting against racism. Homer Plessy's landmark case, Plessy v. Ferguson, was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where all White judges ruled in a 7-1 majority against him, reinforcing the racist "separate but equal" doctrine in the U.S and setting the foundation of the Jim Crow regime in the US southern states.

Nobel Prize Laureate, Freedom struggle icon and Leader in the South African Council of Churches Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died on December 26, 2021. He was 90 years old. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is considered as one of African freedom heroes for the  struggle against apartheid , corruption, dictatorship, and kleptocracy. 

A day after a landmark ruling cementing the foundation of Obamacare, the US Supreme Court handed yet another victory to
President Obama's administration by ruling that same-sex marriage is a civil right that states cannot ban.

Until recently, legalizing same-sex marriage was unthinkable in the United States. This did not deter gay rights advocates who have
continued their struggle, supported mostly by Democrats and Civil Rights activists. Several prominent business executives, such as 

Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act, PPACA or known as Obamacare, has once again survived the challenge from Republicans, after  a 6-3 decision ruling by the US Supreme Court, or SCOTUS.  Obamacare will be the health care law that will solidify President Barack Obama's legacy for generations to come.

The ruling was about the provision in the PPACA authorizing federal tax credits for eligible Americans, whether they live in states

"I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me, " Apple CEO Tim Cook has said in a letter written for Bloomberg Businessweek,  while  publicly coming out as gay and declaring his support for equality.

Tim Cook, though the CEO of perhaps the most prominent company in the World today, has managed to  keep a low profile on his personal life. In the letter he  says that his decision to publicly acknowledge his sexuality was  intended to "bring comfort to anyone who feels alone" and to "inspire people to insist on their equality."