Mark your calendars. In today’s iteration of The Lede: Highlights we bring you three events that we expect to read about in the news during the month of May.
- May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an initiative started by Mental Health America (MHA) back in 1949, but that is all the more relevant today. Now in its second year, the devastations of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a marked effect on people’s mental health. Throughout the month, MHA and other organizations will join forces to raise awareness about mental health and attempt to reduce the stigma associated with mental illnesses, which often keeps individuals from seeking help.
- May 25 will mark the one year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, who died while pinned beneath the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. In the months following Floyd’s death, the length of time that Chauvin’s knee remained on the back of Floyd’s neck became a rallying cry for protests against police brutality. Almost a year later, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
- One year ago on May 27, 2020, the United States surpassed an unthinkable and momentous milestone — 100,000 coronavirus deaths. The U.S. death toll exceeded this marker within four months of the first known case being detected in the country, and didn’t stop there. The numbers continued to accelerate, reaching 200,000 in September 2020, 300,000 in December 2020, 400,000 in January 2021 and 500,000 in February 2021.
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Our clients receive a monthly media planner, The Lede Edition, that looks two months ahead at the events and topics that will be making headlines.